I Wish It Would Rain
by spikeyhairgood
Summary: It’s all about drama, love, and relationships. It’s time for the brothers to come home and face all the things they’ve been running from, to find the love in family again, and for Jack to realize a few things about sexual tension with the opposite sex.
1. Nikki

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Four Brothers, but I do own the original character, Nikki. _

_**Summary:** The girl next door never had it good; neither did the Mercer boys that she hung out with. Now that the boys are out for revenge, someone's gotta take care of them, right?_

_**A/N:** Ah yes, another sister type story. What can you say, the idea is pretty repetitive. My main character isn't a Mercer kid though, just hung out with them too much, so maybe that can be a breath of fresh air. This is my first Four Brothers fan fic, so I hope you guys like. Reviews are much appreciated, and I'd really like to hear what you guys think: good, bad, it's all good. Anyway, on the story. Flashback is in italics.  
_

_Story title is from The Temptations. The song was played in the movie, and I thought it was one of the best on the soundtrack.  
_

- - - - -

_"Oh shit," The eyes of the eleven-year-old tiny girl, standing at the height under four feet, were wide in fear. Her hair was messy, strands covering her face. Her mouth slightly open, scared to even breathe, she grimaced at the gun shot. "Oh, shit," She mumbled, opening the door, hearing the roar of a man's voice shatter the silence of the house._

_"Nikki!" He yelled, and Nikki slammed the front door shut._

_"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit," She repeated over and over, running frantically next door. She shuddered every time the bullets would ring through the neighborhood. Looking up at the house, and running, she banged on the Mercer door. "Bobby!" She banged, still looking at the door at her own house. "Bobby!" Knees shaking, she gave up, yelling every Mercer brother's name. "Jackie! Angel! Jerry!" Grimacing at another shot, one that sounded closer than the last time, she banged with two fists, "Assholes! Open the door!" With that, the door flew open to Bobby, and Evelyn standing behind him._

_"What the fuck is going on?" Bobby asked, sticking his head out to look outside._

_"He-" Nikki's shoulders jumped, and eyes snapped shut at the gunshot, with her front door flying open._

_"Get inside," Bobby said, pushing Nikki into Evelyn's arms._

_"Bobby, no!" Nikki yelled, as Evelyn quickly closed the door, pulling her into the house._

- - - -

"Oh, shit," Nikki mumbled to herself, looking up at the Mercer household. She sighed; staring at how empty and mundane it looked now that Evelyn had passed away. Slowly, her glance moved to the house on the left. It seemed peaceful now, after all the havoc it caused in her life.

Shaking her head, Nikki stepped over the snow, the cab driving away, her bag clenched in her hands. Shaking her head, she rang the doorbell, and took a breath, getting the gut feeling that she should have thought more clearly about coming back home.

- - - - -

"Just shut up Angel!" Bobby yelled, shaking his head at a grunting Angel, stomping up the stairs. Shooting Angel's back a dirty look, Bobby opened the door; to a girl carrying a duffle bag, a black purse hanging over her right shoulder, and a right eyebrow raised. "Shit! Nikki, baby!"

Bobby said, grabbing the petite girl into his big arms, careful not to squeeze her to death.

"Nick?" Jerry asked, standing up from the chair, to see who came in. "Oh, shiit! Nikki!" Jerry said, as Bobby let go, a smile on his face, as Jerry took her into his own arms.

Nikki struggled to breath, and patted him on the back. Jerry let her go, the two grinning silly, and Nikki raised her eyebrow again, "Why the fuck didn't anyone call me yesterday? It was the funeral for fuck sake!"

Bobby looked at Jerry, who was already looking at Bobby. "Uh," Bobby muttered and then gave a shrug, "I don't know?"

"Nikki?" Nikki's eyes turned into slits, as Jack appeared in the hallway.

"You," Nikki scowled, putting her hand on her hip. "What the hell is wrong you, huh? Can't even tell me about the funeral. Shit, Jackie, just walk down the street and pick me up!" Nikki yelled, walking angrily towards Jack, who backed up slowly. "Well, say something!"

Jack looked at Bobby, then back at Nikki, "Sorry?"

Nikki ran towards Jack, her fists clenched, but only to get caught and spun around by Bobby.

"No bloodshed on Thanksgiving, girls," Bobby said, his arms around Nikki as she used all her strength, inching closer to Jack.

Jack laughed, "C'mon Nick, come get me."

Nikki glared, and quickly turned her head to Bobby. Bobby stared at her, and shrugged, letting her go.

"Bobby!" Jack yelled, as Nikki lunged at him, knocking him over, as he shielded his face.

Jerry smiled at Bobby, who laughed, "Just like the old days."

Bobby snorted with laughter, as Nikki continued to punch and scratch, "Get em', Nick! Get that Cracker Jack!"

"Wait," Jerry said to himself. "You two live in the same apartment?"

Nikki turned around, sitting on Jack, and Jack's eyes got wide. He slowly took arms out of protection, and Nikki quickly slapped him without looking.

"You guys living in the same apartment?" Bobby asked, suddenly serious. "You two together or something?"

"No!" The two yelled, looking at each other after the outburst.

Nikki stood up, "No, we don't. We're not." She said quickly, as Jack picked himself up.

"She just lives down the street," He explained, and Nikki nodded.

"Living in the same city?" Bobby cocked an eyebrow.

Nikki mocked Bobby's eyebrow raise, "New York City is pretty fucking big, Bobby."

Bobby's eyebrow dropped, "Well Cracker Jack didn't say he was still in contact with Little Nikki."

Jack and Nikki simultaneously looked at each other.

"Uh, I don't know," Nikki shrugged.

Jack shrugged right after, "Sorry?"

"What the hell are ya'll yelling about?" Angel said, rushing down the stairs. He smiled, his white teeth shining, "Nikki!" Angel ran, taking Nikki into his arms, and spinning her around. "What are you doing here?"

Nikki laughed, "That's a stupid question. I'm here for Ma." Nikki spun around, a fist lunging towards Jack's crotch, but stopped inches before. "Some asshole couldn't even tell me when the funeral was. His coke-head of a room-mate had to tell me."

"Well, we're happy to see you, kid," Angel said, wrapping his arm around the tiny figure.

Nikki looked around at the house, and sighed, "I'm happy to see you guys, too."

"Come on Nick, let's watch some hockey just like the old days," Bobby said, grabbing her arm out of Angel's grasp. "We'll let the fairy cook in peace."


	2. Some Things Never Change

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything in Four Brothers, just the original character. _

_A/N: This chapter doesn't have much action in it, but it does show the relationships between the boys and Nikki more, especially her relationship with Jack and Bobby. Nikki's past will be explained in later chapters, so please be patient with that if you're antsy about it. I'm really happy with the reviews, thanks for so much for them, glad people like this so far. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, and keep those lovely reviews coming!_

- - - - - -

"_Come on, ladies, let's show these guys some fucking skills." _

Jack watched Evelyn's chair, eyes changing to Bobby, "Where are you going?"

"This fucking kid has to eat," Bobby mumbled, going to the door. "Nikki!" He yelled opening it, seeing Nikki sitting on the steps, smoke drifting away from her. Bobby shook his head, hating how Jack and Nikki still smoked. He also hated that they started at thirteen. "You still smoking?"

Nikki threw her cigarette on the ground, smoked all the way through, and stepped on it, "Nah Bobby, just breathing. It's so cold outside, ya know. Its cool how breath in cold air looks like smoke, right?"

She stood up, and Bobby gave her a dirty look, "Still sarcastic as hell."

Nikki nodded, "At least some things never change, right?" She sighed, glancing at the house next door. "Anyone live there?"

Bobby shook his head, "I don't know, haven't been back." He looked down at her, still staring at the house. He watched as she looked up and down at the house, biting her bottom lip, shaking her head slightly. "Come on, get your ass inside." He said taking her shoulders, and turning her around into the house. He shut the door behind him, still leading her to the dining room, "They let you buy those cigs?"

"Fuck you Bobby, I've been eighteen for half a year now. Thanks for getting caught up," Nikki said, pulled Bobby's hands off her shoulders, and sitting in the chair next to Angel.

"They card you?" Bobby asked, and Nikki grabbed her plate, shaking her head. Bobby clapped with a smile on his face, "They fucking do."

"Damn, you still smoking too?" Jerry asked, and Nikki tried her best to not make eye contact with him. "You two better stop with that."

"You two still drink together?" Angel asked, and the two nodded. "Who buys that shit for you?" Angel looked at the two, both not of drinking age yet.

Jack stuffed food into his mouth, and mumbled, "Nikki's boyfriend." Jack winced in pain, jumping back, as Nikki kicked him under the table. He looked at her; she was glaring, eating her food slowly.

"You got a fucking boyfriend?" Bobby asked, as he stopped chewing. "Let me meet this kid, see that he's treating you right."

Nikki shook her head at Jack, then looked at Bobby, "Calm down, I don't have no boyfriend," She groaned. "It's on and off," Nikki picked her fork, and looked down at her food. She could feel Bobby's glare burning into her, "Let it go, Bobby, there's no boyfriend."

Bobby gave a nod, continuing as the boys downed their food. Jack watched as Nikki ate, asking, "You still mad at me?"

Nikki glanced up at him, "Since you just sold me out by saying I have a boyfriend that I don't have anymore, and didn't bring me with you to the funeral, you're fucking right I'm mad at you."

Angel's eyes got wide, and Jerry looked away, hiding his smile. Bobby laughed, "Better eat faster, Nick. We're gonna go play some hockey."

Nikki smiled. They usually never let her play hockey if it wasn't just playing with the four of them. They never thought that it would be safe, so they would make her sit on the sidelines, a hockey stick in hand, just in case they needed an extra player, "You're gonna let me play?" She asked, excitement traced in her voice.

"Get that smile off your face," Bobby scoffed. "You're not playing with us. You gonna watch the game."

"Bob-by!" Nikki yelled. Bobby shrugged with no reply. Nikki shook her head, jabbing her fork into the turkey and stuffing in her mouth.

- - - - -

Stepping onto the ice, Nikki slid on, adjusting to the feel of the ice. Skating around for practice, she turned, seeing Jack come after her. He stopped in front of her, staring her down.

"You really still mad at me?" He asked, and Nikki rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Nikki."

Nikki stared at him, she sighed, seeing that he was serious, "I don't know." She shook her head, "Why didn't you just bring me with you? I wanted to go to the funeral. You fucking knew that, Jack."

Jackie turned to look at Bobby, still taking their stuff out of the car. His voice quieted down, his deep voice barely heard, "You know that coming back is trouble, Nikki. Come on. If Bobby's coming home, shit is gonna get stirred up." Jack leaned down at her, "Didn't want you getting caught up in that shit again. You don't know what's gonna happen."

Nikki broke their eye contact, seeing the three elder brothers skating over to them. She sighed, "Well then, someone's gotta take care of you guys, and watch out for you fuckers."

Jackie cracked a smile, before turning around to face his brothers.

"Nick, you wanna play?" Bobby asked, and Nikki stared at him. It would be typical for Bobby to ask that, and then just tell Nikki that she couldn't. "Seriously, you wanna play? Nobody's here yet, we can do some one-on-one. Come on."

Nikki grinned, "Okay!" She said, grabbing Jack's hockey stick, and skating away to Bobby.

"You taking care of her?" Angel asked Jack, Jerry standing on the other side of Jack.

Jack nodded, "I guess."

"You two together yet?" Jerry smiled, and Angel smirked.

Jack rolled his eyes, "Man, where the hell do you get that from? Me and Nikki are not together. We're not gonna get together. Never were together, and never will be."

"Damn Cracker Jack, why you so defensive for?" Angel asked, before skating away.

"Someday, Jackie. I'm tellin' you, someday," Jerry gave a laugh, leaving Jack by himself, watching Nikki ram her shoulder into Bobby, tipping Bobby over, and skating away with the puck.


	3. One Laugh

_Disclaimer: Four brothers goes to John Singleton, and Paramount. Nikki goes to me. _

_A/N: This chapter is kind of long, but there's a pretty long flashback in it. It's still a lot of relationship stuff between the guys and Nikki. You get an insight into how Nikki and Jerry are. And yes, I totally agree, Nikki and Jack should get together. It's a damn shame they don't know that yet, though. Anyway, the updates are coming fast because the reviews are rolling in, which makes me happy, and motivated to write. So if you like it, please review, it'll bring the updates quicker. Glad you guys like this so far._

_Flashback is in italics._

- - - - - - - -

_Leaning against the wall, with his knees pulled up, his arms wrapped around them. His blue-gray eyes were wide, as he stared at the floor. Hearing the stairs creak, Jack tensed up, not moving an inch, and breathed quietly. His wide eyes stared at the door, seeing a little girl run up. Her black hair was tied into a pony tail; she was wearing gray sweatpants ripped at the bottoms, and a big black t-shirt. _

"_Bobby!" She yelled in her tiny voice that roared through the upstairs. Starting to run, Nikki jogged right past Jack's room, as Jack's head followed to look. Crashing back into the wall, Jack's eyes got wide, as she ran back, and stopped in front of his door. _

_She looked at him funny, as she tilted her head, "Who are you?" She asked, and Jack kept his mouth shut. She stared at him, expecting an answer, and Jack tried to remember that he was safe now. Well, that's what Evelyn told him. There was no reason for him to stay silent. _

"_Uh," Jack said, quietly, as she waited. "Jack."_

_Jack's shoulders slouched a little as her light brown hazel eyes stared into him. She smiled a little, seeing that boy was obviously scared, "I'm Nikki."_

_Easing up a little at her smile, Jack loosened his grip around his knees. His tensed shoulders loosened, and he began breathing deeply instead of taking small quick breaths. _

"_Stop yelling and running around the house," Jack saw Nikki turn to her left, looking up. "You talking to Jack?"_

_Nikki nodded, "Yep." Bobby put a hand on Nikki's shoulder, watching Jack interact in Nikki's presence. "How old are you?" Nikki asked, her head cocking to the side again. _

_Jack looked at Bobby, and Bobby gave a small nod, saying it was okay to talk to Nikki. "I'm eight."_

_Nikki grinned; face turning excited, instead of speculative, "I'm turning eight! I'm seven right now, but in a few months, I'll be eight!"_

_Bobby gave a small laugh, patting Nikki on the back lightly, and walking away knowing the two wouldn't have anymore trouble getting to know each other. _

_Nikki took a step into Jack's room, "You like it here so far?" _

_Jack eased up enough to take his arms off around his knees, and spread them, parallel to him, across the bed. Jack's eyes, not wide in fear anymore, followed her sitting her tiny body at the edge of bed. Inching away from her at first, Jack stared as she stared back at him. _

"_I don't know yet," Jack said, and Nikki nodded. _

"_You'll like it here. I wish I could live here," Nikki said, looking down at her arms. Jack followed her glance, and eyes got wide again at the sight of bruises, some faded, and some obviously new, spots starting at her forearm, rising up her arm, into the sleeve of her black t-shirt. Nikki looked up, seeing Jack's fixed glance on them, and hid them behind her. "Evelyn said to go eat." She said quickly, so Jack couldn't say anything about it, "Do you want to go down now?"_

_Jack nodded slowly and she got up. _

"_Come on," Nikki said, lending a hand out to him, to help him crawl off the bed. Contemplatively, Jack looked at, hesitant to take it. He didn't trust, even if the person was around his age. He looked up into her warm eyes, and reached out, as she helped pull him off. "Wanna race?" Nikki smiled, bolting before Jack could even answer the question. _

_Jack let out a sound he hadn't heard from himself in a while, he smiled at it, letting the sound erupt from his throat. He continued his laugh, and ran down the stairs to catch up with Nikki. _

- - - - - - -

"_We're not talking about sperm, Jack, this is whiskey." _

The four heads turned to their right after Nikki let out a roar of laughter. She put her hand over her mouth, laughing harder as Jack glared harder. Giving in to the contagious giggle, Jerry laughed, rubbing her back in the comfort.

"Why you laughing, Nikki? You ain't getting any more whiskey," Bobby said, and Nikki stopped.

Nikki glared, her face slowly transforming into a frown. Bobby rolled his eyes, took his shot glass, and slid it over to her, the whiskey flowing off the cup. Nikki smiled to herself, and slid over her empty glass for Bobby to fill up for himself.

Lifting the glass, Jerry watched as Nikki downed the drink in a few seconds, and his jaw dropped slightly, "Nikki, no, no, no." He shook his head, taking the drink from her. "This is whiskey baby; don't want you drinking whiskey like that."

Nikki frowned a little, and just looked at Jeremiah, surprised at his reaction, "But Jerry, you've seen me drink before. You've bought me drinks before."

"Those were malts, baby, not no whiskey," He shook his head. "Don't wanna see you drinking like you. Not around me you're not."

Nikki smiled a little. She always thought it was a little amusing and entertaining how Jerry could have his protective brother moments. Jerry gave a nod, and downed his own drink.

"Jerry, I don't wanna see you drinking like that." Jerry laughed, and Nikki smiled watching the four. "Gotta pee," Nikki stated randomly, hopping off the chair, and walked towards the bathroom.

"Nikki," Bobby yelled out, the four of the brothers getting up. "We're gonna be sitting right here, all right?" Bobby pointed to a table, and Nikki nodded in response. She watched as Bobby took Jack into a head lock, as Jack laughed. She smiled as Jerry nudged Angel, and Angel reluctantly gave into a grin.

Being able to see the four together, and get to hang out with them again: it was one of the few good things to coming home. Walking towards the bathroom, she took one look back, catching eye contact with Jack. She scrunched her nose at him, and he replied with a playful glare. Shaking her head, she turned forward, smiling slightly.

- - - -

Opening the door, looking down at her pants and shoes, Nikki walked right into Jack, standing in front of the girl's bathroom. Stepping away from him, she raised an eyebrow, "You wanna go in there or something? Finally accepting the name of Cracker Jack?"

"Very funny," Jack said, taking a look behind him. "Come on, we're dropping you off."

Nikki followed, as he led the way, "Why?"

"We gotta go do something," Jack said, nonchalantly, refusing to look at Nikki, knowing she would have something to say.

Nikki hurried to catch up at the pace with Jack, asking, "What are you guys doing?"

Jack looked down at her, "I don't even know."

Nikki looked away, "You never know. Bobby doesn't even fucking know what he's doing half the time."

Jack licked his bottom lip in hesitation, before giving her information, "It was some gang shit or something. We're gonna be going to some building to see what we could find out."

Nikki nodded, zipping up her sweater, putting her hood on, as they walked out into the frigid cold. Jack stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, as Bobby pulled up, and they climbed in. Staring out the window, Nikki turned her head to look at Jack, giving him a serious look.

"What?" He asked, confused to why she was looking at him like that.

"Wait, I'm gonna be at the house?" Nikki asked, and Jack nodded. Nikki sat in the middle of the backseat, sitting at the edge to talk to Bobby. "You just gonna leave me there? You three not gonna be there?"

Bobby gave her a funny look, "Obviously. Why?"

"You gonna leave me in there with La Vi-" Nikki started, but stopped when Angel turned his head to her. "Sofi. You gonna leave me there with Sofi? She doesn't like me. She might start yelling at me in Spanish like she does to you."

Angel looked at her, as she smiled innocently. Bobby laughed, and Jack smirked at the use of Sofi's nickname, "You just don't know her, Nick. She's cool."

"Please," Bobby scoffed, and Angel glared.

"I've known her since you two have been fucking. That's a long time, Angel. She doesn't like me," Nikki explained, groaning.

"You guys just haven't bonded, only the two of you. You'll see, Nikki, its cool," Angel said, unconvincingly, as Nikki groaned once more, sitting back into the back.

- - - - -

"Angel?" Sofi asked, getting up from the couch, and walking to the door. Her happy expression dropped seeing Nikki, as Nikki locked the door, turning around to see Sofi staring.

"Oh," Nikki started, taking her shoes off, leaving it by the door. "No, they gotta do something. They just dropped me off. They'll be home later."

"Oh, okay," Sofi smiled politely, going back to the living room, Spanish actors whining in a Spanish soap opera. Nikki stood at the doorway into the living room, blinking at the screen of a crying teenager.

She glanced at Sofi, engulfed into the Telenovela. "Uh," Nikki mumbled, "I'll be in Jack's room if you need me."

Sofi nodded, and Nikki walked up, the stairs creaking the same way they did since she was a kid.


	4. Jack: The Shirt Ripper

_Disclaimer: Don't own Four Brothers, just Nikki. _

_A/N: So since I've already gone ahead and wrote some chapters, I'm starting to realize that I've created an on-going 'will they get together' with Nikki and Jack. I also started realizing it's not so much as how the brothers interact with each other (since that's seen in the movie) but with Nikki, being someone they knew since they were younger. Anyway, you'll get to see Nikki's first time acknowledging Evelyn's death. All the relationships will have their moment in this story, don't worry. Anyway, hope you like. Again, it's on the long side. Reviews are awesome, please, keep em' coming. I am in need of some feedback on what you think, good or bad, it's good._

- - - - - - - -

Smiling at the creaking of the stairs, Nikki walked up slowly, and into Jack's room, looking around as she put her stuff on his bed. Turning around, she stepped out, peeking into the bedroom next door.

Evelyn's room. If Nikki wasn't running to Jack's room for protection, she was running into Evelyn's. Standing at the doorway, with a lamp light illuminating the bedroom, Nikki looked around at the laundry basket, and the perfected neatness that Evelyn always had. Breathing in slowly, Nikki closed her eyes, breathing in Evelyn's smell, memories flooding her mind. Feeling her eyes start to water, Nikki closed the door a little, and walked into Jack's room, sitting at the edge of the bed, seeing that nothing had changed. Looking behind her, Nikki saw the guitar, grabbing it, and getting up onto the bed to sit against the wall. She strummed songs that Jack taught her, and strummed notes that relaxed her.

Suddenly, Nikki stopped playing, putting the guitar down, and stretching across the bed, leaning her upper body over, and pulled the bed sheet up to see if her sleeping bag was still there. She smiled, pulling it out. Grinning at the words Evelyn sowed into the sleeping bag, 'Nikki Mercer' she rolled it out, sitting up, and kneeling down on the floor.

Nikki laughed to herself, she always found it funny that they would call her Nikki Mercer because she was the little sister type. She thought maybe it was because she felt like she was a Mercer. A mouth that could get her into trouble, stubborn, angry, and at times, to a stranger, a complete bitch. No wonder Sofi didn't like her. But Angel always joked that Ma called Nikki a Mercer because she knew that Jackie and Nikki would eventually get together, and possibly married if the two could get their fucked up lives together.

Nikki leaned against the bed, placing the name across her lap, tracing her fingers across the thread. Staring at it, Nikki broke the silence around her, asking, "What the hell did she mean by that?"

Being completely oblivious was one of her flaws too.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Bobby," Jack said, from the back seat.

"You think this is more than some high-school shooters?" Angel asked, ignoring Jack's question.

"Bobby," Jack said, again.

"Nah, you heard the fucker who couldn't stop talking. It's just a cover up. The cops are fucking with us, Angel. Something's goin on here," Bobby said, shaking his head.

"Bobby!" Jack yelled.

"What do we do now, Bobby?" Angel asked, and Bobby shrugged.

Bobby looked at Angel, "We'll find out more tomorrow."

Angel nodded, and Jack found another opportunity, "Bobby."

"What?!" Bobby yelled, as he and Angel turned around with annoyed faces.

Jack shrunk into his shoulders, and mumbled, "Forget it."

Bobby shook his head, turning forward, pulling into the front of the house. Turning off the engine, Angel got out, as Jack climbed out from the back. The two slammed the car doors shut, and the light turned on from the living room. Soon enough, Sofi was at the door, greeting Angel, as a smirk spread across Angel's face. Jack looked down, and Bobby rolled his eyes, as the three walked up the stairs, Sofi pulled Angel past the two, and up to the bedroom.

- - - - - - - - - -

Nikki sat up from her sleeping bag, to see Angel and Sofi run past her. Her eyes got wide, knowing what would happen next, and only God knew what she could hear if she stayed up there. She pulled herself up, being quiet in running down the stairs, not stepping on any of the spots that would creak. The closer she got, the more audible Jack and Bobby were.

"_Why would anybody wanna kill the sweetest woman in the goddamn world?"_

Nikki stopped walking, furrowing her eyebrows.

"_I don't know, Jack. I don't know."_

Nikki took a few steps down, as Bobby replied, sounding tired and frustrated at the same time.

Pausing before walking in, Nikki took a breath, and slid with her socks against the hardwood into the kitchen while Bobby picked out something to eat from the almost empty fridge.

"I'll pick up food tomorrow," Nikki said, as Jack watched her pass by and sit at the kitchen table.

Bobby took left over pizza from fridge, and gave a laugh, "You not goin' anywhere."

Nikki raised her eyebrow in confusion at Jack, who just looked down, "What are you talkin' about?"

"I'm talkin' about you not goin' anywhere unless one of us is with you," Bobby took a cup, pouring soda in. "It's dangerous out there, Nikki."

Nikki sat up straight, and shot him a look, "I grew up here, Bobby. I know it's dangerous, nothing's changed. I still fucking know these streets."

Bobby sat down at the table, not breaking their eye contact, "I mean it, Nick. Can't go out there without someone with you, especially right now."

Nikki huffed lightly, and looked down, picking at the table. Bobby looked up at Jack, who watched from the counter. Jack took his eyes away from Nikki to look at Bobby, and turned around to look through the pantry.

Bobby looked down at his pizza, still cold, and picked at it. Scrunching his face, and closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth. He didn't like the feeling of Nikki being truly upset at him, if it's other than him making an asshole move. Grabbing the plate, turning around, and walking to the microwave, he muttered, "Nikki, have you seen Jackie play a show before?"

Bobby turned to face Nikki, who smirked slowly still looking at the table. He looked at Jack, whose jaw was clenched, staring at Nikki, waiting for her reaction.

"He-he," Nikki started, and Bobby smiled to himself, facing the microwave so she wouldn't see him. He was accomplished now. He didn't care if Jack and Nikki were about to get into a fight. Slowly, but surely Nikki fell into hysterics, her head in her arm, hiding away from Jack's glare.

"Nikki! Stop laughing," Jack yelled, pushing her slightly to make her stop. Jack groaned, almost pushing her over, as she grabbed onto the edge of the table, still laughing so hard that she couldn't breathe.

Bobby laughed to himself, shaking his head. Nikki's laugh was contagious. Maybe it was because of the 'hehehe' laughs that she generated or just her ability to snort slightly while she gasped for air. Or maybe it was the way she hit the table as she tilted her head back.

Jack sat down, shaking his head at her, "Jesus, Nikki."

Bobby smiled, grabbing the plate out of the microwave, seeing the cheese bubble from heat, "Fuck Cracker Jack, I didn't know you sucked that bad. You must suck hard if Little Nikki is laughing herself to tears."

"I don't suck, Bobby!" Jack yelled, and Bobby gave him a look for the double meaning that was floating in Bobby's mind. Nikki tried to hide her giddy face behind her hands. "Nikki just laughs at me now, ever since she saw…" He paused, "Since-" Jack shook his head.

"Since what?" Bobby asked, sitting adjacent to Jack, and across Nikki.

Jack bit his bottom lip, and Nikki smiled. She tried her best to calm herself down, and quit laughing for a few minutes, "This kid here rips his fucking shirt off."

Jack groaned, leaning his head back.

Bobby shot Jack a dirty look, "You're ripping your shirt off, you fucking fairy?"

Nikki nodded viciously, and Jack brought his head back down, to look at Bobby, "Rock stars do it all the time, Bobby."

Nikki shot a right eyebrow, with a smile, "No, they don't. Drummers go shirtless, some of them, but no lead singers rip their damn shirt off."

Bobby stared at Jack.

"He sings well," Nikki added. "But he'll be singing, then just grabs the collar of his shirt, then just rips it. Rips the poor fuckin' thing off," Nikki said in-between laughs. She scrunched her nose, "Girls yell, though. God knows why."

"They like it," Jack smirked seductively at Nikki and she scrunched her nose even more.

"They are 'hang out backstage' sluts, Jackie. That's not a decent lay," Nikki said, trying to take a piece of Bobby's pizza, as he watched the two in entertainment. Bobby pulled his plate away, and Nikki pouted, retreating knowing she wasn't going to get a piece.

"Well at least I haven't been with the same person, on and off for the past year," Jack retorted and Nikki shot a glare. "Year, Nikki. You two gotta," Jack lifted his head, facing the ceiling, "let it go!"

Bobby stuffed the last piece in his mouth, "That's it. Don't wanna hear no more of your jealousy fighting." The two looked at each other, looking down in embarrassment. "Go upstairs and fight if you wanna go on with that." Bobby got up, to wash his plate.

Nikki and Jack looked at each other, standing up as well, as Jack grabbed the bag of beef jerky, holding it up in the air as Nikki tried to grab it. She jumped repeatedly trying, but Jack laughed at the extreme height difference.

Bobby watched from the corner of his eye, smiling once they were out of sight. Whispering, Bobby turned the water on, saying, "Nikki Mercer."


	5. Realization

_Disclaimer: Don't own Four Brothers, just Nikki. _

_A/N: Isn't it fun knowing something Jack and Nikki don't know yet? It's fun writing it. Anyway, not much to say other than hope you guys like it, and thanks so much for the feedback. Feedback/reviews please. Flashback in italics. Oh, and eek, sorry for the long chapter again, hopefully you guys will like it despite that.  
_

_**Jill (anonymous);** This is old, and should have been in chapter three, but since I sent review replies back, I couldn't reply one to you since it was an anonymous review. So, I just wanted to say thanks for the review. _

_- - - - - - _

_The eleven-year-old dirty blonde kid, whose hair blocked his vision as he looked down at his guitar, slowly looked up, confused to the tattering he thought he was imagining. Hearing a larger rock hit the window; he jumped a little, putting the guitar down, jumping off his bed, and looked at the window. One more pebble hit it, and Jack tried his best to quietly run down the stairs, knowing it was a ten-year-old wanting to come inside. He opened it up, whispered Nikki's name, as she walked to him through the falling flurries in a t-shirt, and thin gray sweatpants. _

"_Shit Nikki, come in," Jack said, taking her arm as she winced. Surprised, Jack let it go, and she pulled it to her side. His confused gaze saw the colors start to appear, through the darkness, on her light tan skin. _

_Nikki closed the door behind her, the two walked up, tip-toeing into Jack's room. Jack closed the door behind them, as Nikki sat on the bed, staring at her arm, lightly sliding a finger past it. Jack sat next to her, taking her arm, and inspected. _

"_How long have you had it?" Jack asked, and Nikki shrugged a little, answering, "Fifteen minutes, I think." Jack looked at her, "It's pretty bad for fifteen minutes already." Nikki shrugged again, and Jack finally saw the right side of her face, etched with red marks. He stood up, to see the other side. Nikki looked at him, confused, and then put a hand over her cheek._

"_It's fine," She slid a hand past it, not wincing at all. "Doesn't hurt at all actually." Jack stared at her, face serious. Jack sat down next to her again, and hesitantly tried to put his hand on her back for comfort, but kept pulling away. She turned to him, giving him a weird look. "What?"_

_Jack lightly put his hand on her shoulder, that she could barely feel it, "Nothing, just uh..." He took his hand back, "My foster dad used to put his hand on my back or shoulder before he would…" Jack's voice trailed off as he gulped. He put his hand down by his side, and then rested it on his knee. "Sorry I can't make you feel you better by rubbing your back or something."_

_Slowly, Nikki's hand rose up, and Jack watched her, as she put a hand on his shoulder. She laid it there, firmly but gracefully, giving him comfort instead of fear, "Well, it shouldn't mean something bad anymore." Nikki said, rubbing his back a little, in comfort. Jack looked up at her, smiling a little, and she took her hand back, holding them together, as they both stared at the floor. _

"_We should get some sleep," Jack said, and Nikki nodded. He pulled out the sleeping bag, turned off the light, and before Nikki could hand him a pillow, he said, "No, you can hug my pillow for tonight."_

_Through the darkness, Jack saw Nikki smile slightly, "Thanks, bud."_

_- - - - - - - _

Jack walked up the stairs, Nikki following. Smiling to himself, he suddenly stopped and Nikki walked straight into him. She glared, and punched his butt, as he continued. The two walking in to the room, Jack closed the door, hearing the bed lightly creaking down the hall, from Angel's room.

He turned to look at the sleeping bag on the floor. He smiled slightly, throwing the bag of beef jerky on the bed, and Nikki grabbed it for herself. "You found it. Shit, it's still here," He said, his voice deep and toned with nostalgia. "It still has your name on it." Nikki looked down, since she was sitting on the bed. Jack shrugged, "Well, what we called you, anyway. You ever wonder why she never just put Nikki instead of adding the 'Mercer'?"

Nikki looked away, awkwardly, remembering Angel's explanation, "Uh, nope, no idea."

Jack kneeled for a second, and then looked up at Nikki, "You remember when you used to come over in the middle of the night?"

Nikki nodded, "Of course. Why?"

Jack shook his head, "Nothing, just, it's what the sleeping bag was for."

"Don't think I could forget about some things like that," Nikki said looking at her thumbs, fiddling nervously. "You think Evelyn knew I used to sneak up here?"

Jack laughed, "Of course, she knew. That's why she hid the sleeping bag under my bed one day, so we wouldn't have to share the bed." He slowly looked up at her smile, "Why didn't you ever hide your bruises? I used to hide mine all the time."

Nikki looked at Jack, caught by surprise, from the question. She regained her composure, "It's not like there was anyone to hide it from in this house." Jack nodded, understanding, "Jackie?" Nikki whispered, and he looked back at her. "Uh, thanks for letting me have the extra pillow those nights."

Jack smiled a little, turning to their clothes, "No problem." He threw her pajama pants and sleeping t-shirt at her, as he took his own. She changed under the sheets, and he changed on the floor, both of them throwing their clothes on top of duffle bags. Rolling over, Jack lay down on top of the sleeping bag, facing the ceiling, "You take the bed, and I'll sleep here."

Nikki pulled out a pillow from under the covers, handing it to Jack. She got up to turn the light off, and climbed back under the covers. Staring into the darkness as the moonlight illuminated the room; Nikki could hear Jack breathing steadily.

"Jack?" She asked, and he replied with a deep cracking voice response, "Do you need a pillow to hug tonight?"

She waited for an answer and Jack replied with a yes. She took the pillow she was using and scooted over to the edge to hand it to him. She stayed there, watching him wrap his arms around it. "It'll be okay, Jackie. I don't know why this happened, but it'll be okay. Things have gotten fucked up before for us, but it didn't turn out horrible… right?"

Through the darkness, she saw him nod, and she rolled over to face the wall.

- - - - - - -

"_Shut the fuck up!"_ The fist flew into Nikki's face, and Nikki woke up in a jolt, sitting up, and taking a deep breath. Closing her eyes, and slowing down her breathing, she recollected where she was, and that it was just a dream.

Looking to her right, leaning over a little, she saw an empty sleeping bag. Confused, she reached over for the ripped piece of computer paper, lying at the end of the bed by her feet. She grabbed it reading,_ "We'll be back later, Nick. Don't leave the FUCKING house."_ Obviously in Bobby's handwriting, messy and rough just as he was, she got up, opening the door, and lazily walked down the stairs.

She almost made it to the kitchen to grab something to eat, but stopped, hearing her name. She walked into the living room, as Sofi sat there, smiling politely.

"Do you want to watch TV?" Sofi asked, and Nikki looked at her. Seeing her genuineness in trying to get to know Nikki, she nodded, and sat on the couch, sitting on top of her feet. "What do you want to watch?" Sofi asked, zipping through the channels.

Nikki shrugged, "Anything's good with me."

Sofi nodded, as a romantic comedy flashed by, and she channeled back, "Is this okay?"

Nikki smiled. She hadn't watched a romantic comedy in a while considering she was friends with guys like the Mercer brothers, and just didn't have enough time because she worked so much. "Yeah, it's good." The two sat there, trying not to move an inch, in the awkwardness and silence. Even if they were watching a movie, it didn't require talking; it still felt like something had to break the ice. "So, you and Angel back together?"

Sofi nodded, a closed-mouth smile on her face. Nikki smiled a little at how happy Sofi looked, as she answered, "Yes." She paused, "Again." The two laughed, feeling the ice between them start to thaw. "You and Jack are together?"

Nikki's eyebrow shot up, "Who told you that?" Her nice voice was gone, and it was back to tough and defensive, obviously taking Sofi by surprise. "It's just the boys are annoying about it. Well, they always have been, just seems like they upped it since we got back. Me and Jack aren't together, though."

Sofi nodded, knowing clearly what Nikki was talking about. The boys could be annoying that way. Of the three other brothers, she had Bobby to deal with, "I get it. Angel told me. I thought it was true, because well..." She looked at Nikki, "I always thought you and Jack would get together at least once."

'_Did everyone think this?_' Nikki asked herself. "Oh, no, we're just… we're just me and Jack," Nikki said, struggling to find the right words for what her and Jack were. They were best friends with an extremely strong bond. But that didn't quite explain all of it. Nikki wasn't sure what the other part was, but she knew it was there. "Yeah, uh, just me and Jack."

Sofi nodded, giving her a smile that confused Nikki. It was like she knew something, or knew that Nikki was confused beyond belief, and then continued to watch. Nikki sunk into the couch, as she stared at the TV screen, not paying attention to the movie at all.

- - - - - -

Jack couldn't help but stare at the bone poking through this kid's skin. His meat and flesh exposed, and his skin cut open. He grimaced as he stared, until he heard him give into the pain and give in to Bobby's command. He spilled where they could find them, and Bobby smirked in satisfaction.

"Now we'll call you a fucking ambulance," His hand stuck out in front of Jack. "Give me your cell-phone, Jack."

Jack quickly obliged, digging his hand into his back pocket, handing the cell-phone over, and crossing his arms, hugging his body slightly, protecting it from the cold. Jack stared as the guy's eyes closed in pain and the expression on his face made Jack want to fucking carry him to the hospital if he continued to make that face.

Jack wasn't made to do this. He grew up with this. He was treated this way, but he sure as hell couldn't do what Angel and Bobby ever did. He sold drugs as a kid. He beat up kids. He got into fights, and threatened lives to the point of a gun point. But Jack could never actually pull the trigger. He'd hand the fucking gun over to Bobby to finish the job.

He basically made it seem like he was the tough, Mercer brother trouble, but he never did hardcore shit. For example, kill someone in cold blood. Jack shook his head, disappointed in himself, unable to live up to troubled expectations. Maybe he was a fucking fairy.

Walking away to leave him in the cold, with the ambulance on its way, Bobby handed the cell-phone over to Jack. Before putting it in his pocket, Jack held it in his hand, re-thinking the action. He held it in front of him, fingers moving hurriedly, creating a new text message.

"Who you texting?" Angel asked, catching Bobby's attention and throwing it on Jack.

"Uh," Jack looked up. "Nikki."

Angel smirked, "Why you texting Nikki for?"

"Just wanted to check up on her. You know, see if she left the house or somethin'," Jack said quickly, so preoccupied with his excuse that he tripped over a sidewalk crack.

"Uh huh," Angel smiled, as Bobby did too. The two shook their heads.

"When you finally gonna realize it, Jack? Nikki ain't just some…girl next door. To us she is, she sure as hell not to you, though. Even Ma had money bettin' that you guys would get together," Bobby said, and Jack refused to look at them. "You two gonna realize too, some day. Or you two just gonna finally admit it." Jack finally looked up at Bobby, who paused. "Until then, you're still a fucking fairy."

Jack looked at his phone, pressed send, and for the first time he didn't deny the Nikki accusations out loud.


	6. Distraught

_Disclaimer: Still don't own anything but Nikki._

_A/N: Not much to say except, the reviews are awesome, thanks for them, because they help me keep writing and motivated, which has me updating quicker. There is some Bobby insight, I actually like that part, hopefully you guys will to. Anyway, off to the chapter and reviews/feedback please._

- - - - - - -

"_Jack, you wait here."_

Jack obeyed, slowing down his running pace, only taking a few steps until a full stop. His eyes were wide, despite the snow that dropped on his eyelashes. He quickly brushed them away as Angel and Bobby began to kick and yell, and threaten. Jack breathed slowly, knowing well what was going to happen, but not quite sure if Bobby and Angel would go through with it.

_"You fucked with the wrong lady." _

_  
_Jack heard Angel say, even from far away. And there they went. The bullets. Jack turned in reaction, facing away from them, as his shoulders jumped, and eyes clamped shut. And for a second he felt the same way Nikki described. Jumping, heart stopping, and scared. Even for a moment, he could feel the way Nikki did when bullets were shot in front of her. But they killed Ma. They deserved it. Right? Soon enough Bobby and Angel walked towards him through the snow, pulling him as they ran into the car.

Bobby started up the car, the blown out tire getting worse and worse. In the racket that cluttered outside of the car, the interior was dead quiet, tension-filled silence.

"What do we do with the car, Bobby?" Angel asked, breaking it.

Bobby looked at him, not answering at first. He answered in a quiet mumble, "We'll hide it."

With that, Angel nodded, looking out the window. There was nothing to say. They got the shooters. But why did it feel like nothing was set right?

Bobby rolled up his window, trying to block the sound, and refuse the snow and cold air to come in. He shook his head slightly, the sparks from the blown out tire, and noise still filling his mind. He looked forward, looking at Jack in the rearview mirror. Bobby hated bringing Jack along to things like this. He preferred that he stay home, just as Nikki did, but they supposed Jack was old enough to go on these things. Plus, he couldn't refuse Jack of the revenge he pleaded for.

Bobby gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles peering through his skin. He squeezed hard, and held on. His mother was gone, and he couldn't kill enough people to make him feel better. But he wanted whoever who did this to know that their shit isn't going to go unpunished. It wasn't just some execution. It was Ma. It was Evelyn. It was the woman who gave Bobby endless chances he didn't deserve. She took him in and didn't let him fall off the face of the earth. She taught him to respect and to trust. She saved his life, and he was set on killing off whoever had anything to do with cutting off hers.

- - - - - - -

"You wanna eat, Jackie?" Bobby asked, as he and Angel headed into the kitchen.

Jack shook his head, mumbling, "No, I'll be in my room."

Bobby nodded, and walked into the dark kitchen, the lights flickering on as Jack walked upstairs. Sighing, his vision adjusted to the darkness, and he pushed the slightly open door completely. He stood there, running a hand through his hair. He wanted to talk to Nikki about everything that happened that day; seeing Ma's death on video and about the shooter. But he could tell, the moon shining on her face, that she was dead asleep.

Or not. Nikki stretched to Jack's surprise, and her eyes peeked open. She sat up, seeing Jack standing at the door, not moving, and looking obviously tired. "You okay?" She asked, and Jack stood there. "Okay, obviously not. Come on." She said, patting the bed, and he walked over, sitting at the edge, next to her. "What happened? You guys just got home?" Nikki asked, looking at the clock, reading three-forty-five.

"Yeah," Jack said, slowly. "Just got home." He muttered, and looked at her, staring at him, concerned. "Got the shooters."

Her mouth opened a little, wanting to say something, but looked down, replying with an, "Oh."

"Yeah," Jack said, looking down as well.

"Well, at least you got 'em, right?" Nikki asked, and Jack nodded. "You okay though? You hurt?" Jack shook his head, "I'm not talking about bruises or cuts, Jackie."

Jack looked at her, his eyes wide, the way they were when he was a little kid, "Not really." He muttered, "We went to the store that Mom got shot in." Nikki bit her bottom lip, knowing that must have been hard. "We saw this video…" Nikki looked up knowing what video he was referring to.

Nikki lifted her right hand that she leaned on, and rubbed his back in comfort. She had no words to say. There wasn't much you could say about something like that. She knew that Jack just had to deal with it by himself, in his silence. Nikki scooted over, all the way to the wall, and crawled under the covers. Jack looked back at her, as she turned to the wall, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jackie. I really am," She whispered, and Jack closed his eyes. "Goodnight."

Looking down at Nikki, Jack stared at the empty space she left for him. They always slept in the same bed if Nikki was really upset to the point of crying, or if Jack was upset enough that he couldn't form the words. Unbuckling his belt, and pulling off his jeans, he took his shirt off in one swift movement, crawling under the covers, edging at the end of the bed. He closed his eyes, hoping that the images he'd seen that day wouldn't be the ones that he brought with him in his sleep.

Before getting knocked out completely, Jack slurred, "Goodnight, Nikki."

- - - - - -

"_Police in the house." _

Jack heard Angel yell as he walked back into his room, his body filling with energy, as he grabbed his pants and pulled them on, stumbling and struggling to gain balance. Unsuccessfully, he fell onto the bed, Nikki jumping up in the air from shock. She turned around confused, and then shot him a glare.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She asked, angrily. She didn't take getting woken up in shock well.

"I-" Jack said, turning in circles to grab a long sleeved shirt, and a gray wife-beater to go under it. "I-" He said, pulling the beater over his body. "Cops in the house," He said, pulling the long sleeves on. "Stay here," He said quickly, before running down the stairs.

Sitting up, Nikki sat still, wondering how she could just sit there when there was talking coming from the living room. She crawled out of the bed, grabbing one of Jack's sweaters, and throwing it over her head. Looking around for her sweatpants to put over her shorts, she gave up on the search hearing yelling emerge. Running barefoot, she ran down seeing Green and a white cop she never saw before, or remembered. She ran behind Jack and Sofi, trying to see what was going on.

The white cop looked down at her, inspecting her, "Who the hell are you?"

Nikki returned the dirty looked, retorting, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Little Nikki," Green said with a smile, walking over to give her a hug. "How you been?"

"Not dying or anything," She answered, still giving the white cop a look. "Who's your friend?"

"This is my partner," Green turned to face him. "Fowler."

Nikki stared, and Bobby stood up, "You done now?" He asked Green, and Green looked at Bobby.

"You better be careful, Bobby," Green said, walking to Fowler, pulling at his shoulder. "You remember if you knock on the devil's door, someone's gonna answer you."

"Good advice there, Green. Now, you two, get the fuck out," Bobby said, leading the two to the door.

Jack turned to Nikki, "I told you to stay upstairs."

Nikki gave him a look, and shook her head, "Fuck you, nothing dangerous going on here with cops."

Jack shook his head, looking down at Nikki's legs. He began walking to the kitchen, and she followed. He whipped around, smacking Nikki's left leg, leaving a big red hand print on her skin. He laughed, and she knocked him upside his head.

"Jackie, what the fuck?" She yelled, throwing a fist at his air hole located by his chest. He gasped for air, glaring at Nikki, as she walked past. Struggling to breathe, Jack reached forward pulling down at one side of Nikki's shorts. She jumped up, away from Jack. "Yo, what the hell? Don't fucking mess with me, asshole. Waking me up, then slapping me like I'm not gonna do anything bout it, pullin' my shorts down. Get your ass over here," Nikki yelled, pulling up her shorts, ready to charge at Jack as he finally regained breathing, his hands ready to keep her away.

"Yo!" Angel yelled, "Stop fighting in there."

With that, Nikki shook her head at him, throwing a punch at his arm, as Jack tried to stray away from it. She walked into the kitchen, as he followed, laughing.


	7. Cracker Jack's Girl friend

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Nikki and family members that only appear in this one. _

_A/N: The mystery of Nikki's past finally is explained. It doesn't come up again, so this will be the only time you'll see it. I was sketchy about putting it in, so I hope you guys still like it. Also, there's more humor in here than the other chapters. Anyway, I'm so glad people say they love this, puts a smile on my face. Enjoy, and please, keep those awesome reviews coming. _

- - - - - - - -

"It looks like fucking United Nations in there," Fowler said, getting into the passenger seat. "Who's the girl? She a Mercer?"

"Nah," Green got into the driver's seat, and mumbled. "But she should be."

"Is she trouble? What's her story?" Fowler asked, the two putting their seat belts on. "That mouth of hers is trouble, though."

"Long story short, she used to be trouble, just because of her family though, she couldn't help but be trouble. She had a drunken ass, drugged up, Irish tempered father. Their mom left a few months after Nikki was born. She was from this strict ass Filipino family that didn't even know she was pregnant, so she sure as hell couldn't bring her kids back with her if she was goin' back."

"Tough shit," Fowler mumbled, not much compassion in his voice.

"Yeah," Green continued. "She didn't have much 'cept her brother, and the Mercers'. Johnny was Bobby's best friend actually. Well, until Johnny got caught in the middle of a gang fight, got shot, and died when Nikki was six. Her dad didn't give two shits about her, which had her at the Mercers' all the time. Then her dad got thrown in jail, probably still there, probably not visited by Nikki either. But his brother, just like him, with a worse temper moved into Nikki's house as her guardian." Green shook his head, "Used to constantly get calls that gunshots were firin' off in that house. We'd get there and he's just shootin' beer cans, no matter how fuckin' close Nikki was to them. Used to tell her that she had too much of an attitude, and he needed to shape her up. Heard rumors that she got hit too, constantly with these bruises."

"She does need to get that fuckin' attitude fixed," Fowler mumbled, and Green peered at him.

"Nah, Nikki's like Bobby. She ain't gonna be polite to you if you disrespect her the first second you see her. Like you did. She ain't gonna trust you either, unless you do some hard earnin'. Just like Bobby, in that way." Green made a left turn, "She snapped one day, yelled back, fucking punched him in the face. He got pissed as hell, and shot the whole damn house up."

Fowler straightened up, considering how dangerous Nikki might actually be, "She kill him?"

"Nah," Green shook his head, and looked over at him. "Bobby did. Didn't get thrown in jail, it was in Nikki's defense. She lived with the Mercers' after that."

Fowler looked back out the window, "Well life just fuckin' sucks for the Mercer family then, don't it?"

Green looked at Fowler, wanting to knock him upside the head.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"What are you two yellin' about in here?" Bobby asked, closing the door, and walking into the kitchen.

"This kid over here," Nikki said, turning around to quickly glare at Jack. "Fucking leaves a hand print on me. You see this, Bobby?" Nikki said, lifting up her leg with the red mark slowly fading.

"Shouldn't be wearin' those booty shorts anyway," Bobby said, sitting down in the chair.

"Yeah, Nikki," Jack agreed, in the annoying little brother way. Bobby shot him a look, and Nikki sat next to Bobby.

"They're not booty shorts, Bobby. They're shorts. You know, because they're fucking short," Nikki said, and Bobby shook his head.

"Nah, I want you wearing basketball shorts. Those shits are down to your knees," Bobby said, and Nikki rolled her eyes.

"Where's Jerry?" Jack asked, randomly.

"How the fuck should I know?" Bobby asked, "Jerry has his own life goin' on." He looked at Nikki, "You see his girls yet?"

Nikki shook her head, "Not since the last time we were all here."

Bobby lightly slapped her arm, and she glared up at him, "You should. Maybe we'll stop by Jerry's and get some fucking take out or somethin'." He sat up, his elbows propped up against the table.

The three sat there, staring down, and Nikki's head slowly moved to look at Bobby up and down. He looked up at her, and noticed that Jack's eyes were also on him.

Nikki took one last glance at the robe that Bobby had on, "Man, what the fuck are you wearing?"

Bobby looked down, and looked at Jack, "Jackie's favorite outfit."

- - - - - - - -

"What are ya'll doin' here?" Jerry asked, opening the door to Bobby, with a Jack and Nikki putting out their cigs.

"Nice to see you, Jerry," Bobby said, standing there.

"Come on, come in," Jerry said, pulling Bobby in by the arm as Jack and Nikki followed.

"Just wanted Little Nikki here to see how big your girls have grown," Bobby said, pointing a thumb at Nikki.

Jerry smiled at Nikki, taking her head under his arm, then laying it along her shoulders. Jerry asked, looking around, "Where's Angel?"

"At home with Sofi, fu-" Bobby stopped himself seeing Daniella and Amelia walk into the room. "Fuh-rying us some chicken, so we got somethin' to eat when we get home."

"Who are you?" Daniella asked, her sister beside her. Nikki kneeled down, smiling, already taking a liking to them.

She held her hand out, "I'm Nikki. I know you don't remember me, but I met you when you guys were this little." Nikki said, showing them a height that made them giggle. She gave a laugh as they did.

"She's Cracker Jack's girlfriend," Bobby said, and Jerry laughed. Nikki and Jack simultaneously glared at Bobby.

"You're Jack's girlfriend?" Amelia giggled.

Nikki shook her head, "No, no, I'm not. See Uncle Bobby was just kidding, because he thinks he's funny and that he got jokes."

"Come on, we gotta get going," Bobby said, and Nikki stood up. "We gotta get us some food." Nikki waved, and smiled at the two little girls, as the three turned to the door, "Come over later, Jerry."

"I'll see, man," Jerry replied.

"Wait," Amelia said, and they all looked at her. "I thought you said Uncle Angel was fuh-rying chicken. Why do you need to pick up food?"

Bobby looked at Jack, who shrugged, and looked at Nikki.

"Uh," Nikki started, "Well, it's good to have different cultures of food, you know?" Nikki looked up at Jack, who smiled at the fact that she pulled out the worse excuse out of her ass. "And boys just eat too much."

"You're the one who eats too much," Jack said, looking down at the tiny girl, looking up at him, her face deadly serious.

Bobby hit Jack's arm, indicating it was their cue to leave. Nikki held the doorknob, "See you later, Jerry. Bye, cuties." Nikki closed the door behind her.

Daniella giggled, "She is Cracker Jack's girlfriend."

"Hey, don't use that name for your Uncle Jack," Jerry said, pointing a finger at her, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

- - - - - - -

Nikki ran up the stairs, with her plate of fried chicken wings, and made her way to Jack's bedroom. She plugged computer speakers into her iPod, and turned the music up. But it wasn't loud enough to block out the door slam, and the glass shatter that she heard after a few minutes, downstairs.

She ran down, seeing Sofi grabbing onto the side of the sink. She was obviously upset and yelling in Spanish again.

"Sofi?" Nikki asked, approaching her. Normally, Nikki would've just run upstairs, mumbling that Sofi was La Vida Loca but since they were stuck in the house together, they got to know each other. "You okay?"

"Angel!" She yelled, and Nikki's eyes wide. "He left, again!"

"They got shit to do though, Sofi," Nikki said, softly, trying to calm her down. "Uh, what are you doin'?" Nikki asked, as Sofi grabbed her jacket.

"He promised at least one night of dinner," Sofi said, heading towards the back door.

"Nah Sofi, it's really not a good idea to-" The door slammed, and Nikki yelled, "Sofi, no! They said we're just supposed to sit here and look pretty! Fuck." Nikki's nose crinkled, trying to think of something to do. She grabbed the phone and dialed Jack's number. She turned around, seeing Jack's phone on the living room table. Nikki groaned, clicking the phone off, "Stupid ass."


	8. Well, That Was Weird

_Disclaimer: Still don't own anything but Nikki.   
_

_A/N: There's finally some Nikki/Jack action that you guys have been waiting for. Well there was some of that action between them before, but they were just oblivious to it. But well… they're starting to see. All right, done with the rambling on about that. The thoughts are in italics, but you could probably tell without me saying so. Oh, and this chapter is a tad bit long. Ah, found a way around the whole uploading documents error thing, just to update for you guys. Reviews/feedback please.   
_

_Mackie; Glad you like it, and yeah, that's the way I wanted to portray the story. Because the movie was awesome, I don't wanna mess with it, so I just added a point of view that would be behind the scenes, with possible scenes that you didn't see in the movie. You're the first reviewer to mention that, so it got me excited, lol. Anywaay, thanks for the anonymous review. _

- - - - -

"Wait, so Ma had a boyfriend?" Nikki asked once more, to confirm, as Jack winced at the thought. He nodded, and Nikki laughed, "What the fuck? That's all funny as hell."

Jack shook his head, "No, it's not funny at all."

"Yes, it is," Nikki tilted her head, giving one more laugh. "I mean, it's Ma. It's just-ah, funny." She brought her head back down, as Jack roamed through her iPod, finding a song to play. He smirked and played, '_The Guns of Brixton_' by The Clash.

"You remember? This is the first punk song I ever listened to," Jack laughed, and Nikki sat down beside him, against the bed, and on the wooden floor.

"If I hadn't let you listen to some rock, you wouldn't be the fucking rock star that you are today," Nikki said, and Jack looked at her.

"You think I'm a rock star?" Jack smiled.

"No," Nikki looked at him, seriously. "I think you're pretty good at playing music in a live audience."

Jack smiled to himself, continuing to look. He reached over Nikki to grab the bag of chips that she had to the left of her. As he grabbed the bag, he looked up at Nikki, who was looking down at him. With their faces inches apart, Nikki could feel a sudden heat spark between them, and she could feel the air from his breath. Slowly, Jack propped himself up more, only inching closer to Nikki.

"Uh," He said, and quickly pulled away, sitting back against the bed. "You want?" He asked, shoving the chips in her face.

"Yea-yeah," Nikki replied quickly.

Nikki dug her hand into the bag, pulling out greasy potato chips, and holding it in her hand. The two sat there awkwardly, a feeling they both haven't felt with each other since the first day they met. It was weird, quiet, and not comfortable. Nikki popped a chip into her mouth, knowing that she didn't want to feel that way around the one person she trusted with everything, and knew her the most. Maybe it meant that the feelings, that she subconsciously started thinking about towards Jack could not exceed past their best friends role.

"So, uh," Jack mumbled. "You wanna sleep now?" He asked, looking over at Nikki, looking back down when Nikki looked up.

"Yeah, sleep's good. Not like we have anything else to do, right? Heh," Nikki asked, and Jack looked at her. Usually they talked or listened to music until their eyes couldn't bear to stay awake. But it seemed impossible with what just happened between them. Even though they weren't even sure what that was. "I'll take the sleeping bag tonight," Nikki said, pulling it out.

"You sure?" Jack asked, standing up.

Nikki nodded, "It is my sleeping bag, it has Nikki-" She stopped before saying the last name. She cleared her throat, "Uh, Nikki Mercer."

Jack looked at her oddly at first, then turned away remembering what Angel used to say, "Yeah, it does have your name on it, hah."

Nikki nodded, taking a pillow, and fixing up her bed. Jack unbuckled his pants, and almost pulled them down, until rethinking the action. Nikki looked up, giving him a weird look, and he just sat on the bed, dressing into his pajamas there. Nikki did the same, and the two sat there, both waiting for the other one to say something.

Nikki got up, turned off the light, and lay down on the sleeping bed, her thumbs fiddling.

"Uh," Jack said, his voice deep and not audible at all. He cleared his throat to be clearer, "Nick?" His heart was beating, and it suddenly became hot in the dead of winter.

"Yeah?" Nikki asked, quietly, recognizing the serious tone in Jack's voice.

"Uh, well…" Jack started, and closed his eyes. '_Do I wanna do this? Do I want to point out the obvious that there is something between us? Or do I just not say anything? Am I ready to admit this to myself? Does Nikki even know? Will this change everything? Of course, it'll change everything, dumbass. But will I lose Nikki?_' Jack asked himself, squeezing his eyes tighter, and clenching his jaw. He sighed, "Goodnight, Nikki."

Nikki bit her bottom lip. '_That wasn't what he was going to say_,' Nikki thought, with questions running through her mind at the same time. '_What if he did say something? What would happen to us? Or did I just think he was going to say something? No, I know Jack better than that. Fuck, what the hell is going on here? If we have this spark, will it threaten our relationship? Could I lose Jack?_' Nikki asked herself, a different question coming up every second. She sighed, "Goodnight, Jackie."

- - - - - - - -

With a fixed downward gaze, Jack walked into the bathroom with a towel clutched in his hand. He spun around to see Bobby walk in, with a magazine in hand.

"You takin' a shower?" Bobby asked, standing there.

Jack gave him a weird look, and turned his back to him, as if Bobby was stupid for asking in the first place. He hung up his towel, "You taking a shit?"

"Ooo," Bobby said, the door still wide open as he lifted up the toilet seat, sitting down, his boxers already touching the floor. "You got a attitude today."

Jack rolled his eyes, turning completely around at Nikki's voice. "Hey," She started. "Let me get your shirt and pants." The two stared at her, merely blinking. "I'm doing laundry."

"Oh," Jack said, pulling his shirt over his head, throwing it over to her. Bobby watched as Nikki looked away as Jack hesitated before taking his pants off. He threw it over to her, and placed his thumb on the waistband of his boxers.

Before taking them off, Nikki mumbled, "I just said your pants and shirt."

"Oh," Jack said, taking his thumb off his boxers. "Right."

Nikki looked at Bobby, before walking away.

Jack pursed his lips together, releasing air out of his nose, and then looked down. He felt Bobby staring at him, and looked at him defensively, "What?"

Bobby shook his head, silently, and shrugged. Jack huffed, taking his boxers off, and stepped into the shower. He groaned, hearing Bobby's voice turn on as the water did.

"You two have a fight or something?" Bobby asked, turning pages of his magazine.

"No," Jack said, his voice deep. Bobby stayed silent knowing well that Jack would eventually give in and tell him. "Something weird happened yesterday."

"What do you mean 'weird'?" Jack could tell Bobby's left eyebrow was up.

"Just… weird," Jack said, knowing Bobby was rolling his eyes.

"Oh, yeah yeah. Now I know what you mean," Bobby said, sarcastically. "What kind of weird things, Jack?" Bobby was asking a question, but his voice sounded as if he was demanding the answer. Jack thought, finding the best way to explain it.

"I think we almost kissed last night," Jack said, making a face at how weird it sounded.

"You and Nikki never kissed before?"

"Just once. But she was really really wasted, and she screamed as soon as she realized it was me," Jack said, leaning his head, the water spattering onto his face.

Bobby gave a laugh, "I was just asking to make you mad, didn't even think you guys kissed before."

Jack paused, hearing Bobby say this. He snapped his fingers in defeat, "Well, we weren't drunk yesterday, and it was…. it was weird. I reached over to get the chips and we were so fucking close. We've been that close before a lot of times, but it was like something sparked."

"Sometimes I forget you two are only nineteen and eighteen," Bobby mumbled under his breath, as if he knew that they were still naive in the art of knowing sexual tension. Especially the ones between close guys and girls. "It's because you're Jackie and Nikki," Bobby said, like it was nothing. "You two are just realizing. Finally, cause it took you two so fucking long, but at least it's all on the line now and you two can figure it out."

"Uh," Jack made a face. "We didn't talk about it."

"Well, what the fuck are you waiting for, fairy?" Bobby yelled, in frustration that he just wasn't getting it, when everyone else but Jack and Nikki had. "Your names even rhyme for fuck sake! Jack-y. Nikk-y," Bobby said, manipulating the names to rhyme just to have it the way he wanted.

Jack stood there, not moving, letting the water fall on him, as he blinked to keep the water from getting in his eyes.

He didn't even make a weird face, hearing Bobby sing to himself, "Jack-y and Nikk-y, sittin' in a tree, f-u-c-k-i-n-g." Bobby laughed at his form of entertainment.

Jack completely ignored Bobby, still preoccupied with the question of what he was waiting for.

- - - - - - - - - -

Poking his head into the laundry room, Jack saw Nikki folding clothes on top of the dryer, creating a pile for her own clothes, and Jack's.

"Thanks," He said, and she turned around to face him.

She kneeled to dig for more clothes at the back of the dryer, "No problem." Jack kneeled next to her, helping, as their arms touched from being so close in proximity, throwing them into the tension again. Only this time, Nikki backed away instead of letting it enfold them.

"Uh," Jack said, standing up, next to her. "You mad at me?"

Nikki gave him a weird look, "Why do you think I'm mad?"

Jack shrugged, "Because you're being weird, and haven't talked to me much since we woke up."

Nikki looked down, folding her clothes in a slow pace. She whispered, Jack not being able to hear her at all, "I'm just confused."

"What?" Jack asked, leaning in to hear her.

"No, I'm not mad," Nikki said. "I thought maybe you were mad at me?"

"You know I can't get mad at you," Jack said, and Nikki smiled. It was true. There were only few occasions where Jack actually got mad at Nikki, and other times she could just talk him out of being mad. "You can't stay mad at me, either."

Nikki looked up at him, and scoffed, "Yeah, I can."

"No, you can't," Jack said, giving a little laugh. He stopped folding, and leaned on his right arm, to face her. "You always forgive me."

"Yeah, but you've never been mad at me for two weeks before. I've been mad at you for two weeks. You remember that? You called. You stopped by. I ignored you. You could never do that to me," Nikki said, looking up at Jack. He nodded, because she was right.

"Well, I bet you can't ever do it again," Jack said, proceeding to fold clothes.

Nikki scoffed again, "Yeah, I can."

"Oh yeah?" Jack smiled, "Fine, right now. Be mad," Jack said, crossing his arms, watching her.

"Fine," Nikki said, giving Jack an 'I will' look.

Jack shook his head, "You can't do it."

Nikki stood there, saying nothing back, and continued to fold the remaining articles of clothing. Jack stood there, waiting, realizing she wasn't going to. He poked her and she punched his arm without looking.

"Niiikkiii," Jack said in singsong, and eyebrows furrowed when she wouldn't even look up to give him a dirty look. "Hey," Jack said, again. "Nick," He repeated. She folded the last shirt, and pushed Jack out of the way to get the basket. She bent over to pick it up, and Jack grunted, bending over, pulling her towards him, turning her around, and throwing her over his shoulder.

Running out of the laundry room, and around the house downstairs, Jack smiled to himself, as Nikki threw fists towards his back, yelling.

"Jack!" Nikki yelled, growing tired of her resistance as Jack ran up the stairs. "Fuck! Put me down. Now!"

"What's that?" Jack laughed, "Are you talkin' to me? Are you?"

"Yes! Yes! Geez," Nikki yelled, and in a few seconds, gave up completely to the fight. Jack grinned, walking into his room. He bent over, putting Nikki on the bed. She sighed, as Jack raised his arms in triumph, trotting down the stairs.


	9. It's You

_Disclaimer: Only own Nikki, nothing else. _

_Warning: Does descriptive make out scenes gross you out? Just skip two paragraphs to keep away from nausea. I'm pretty sure you'll notice when that scene will come up, so, just saying if it bothers you. The author's note will be on the bottom. The chapter's long, but I think you guys will think it's worth reading despite the length. Emails are down, ugh, but still, just had to update this for you guys.  
_

- - - - - - - - - -

"So, you and Angel still good?" Nikki asked, munching on chips, talking to Sofi with her mouth full.

Sofi nodded, eyes on the television, "Yeah. We're great, especially after last night."

Nikki frowned a little, "Uh, that's… good."

As the commercial appeared, Sofi looked at Nikki, legs crossed as she sat on her feet, eating fried chicken and dipping it in hot sauce. "How are you and Jack?"

Nikki choked a little on her food, coughing. Startled, Sofi sat closer to her, rubbing her back as Nikki coughed louder, leaning over.

"You okay, baby?" Sofi asked, handing Nikki soda.

Nikki nodded, taking the cup, and drinking hurriedly, "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks." She said, putting the soda on the coffee table, pausing before eating her food again. "Uh, me and Jack are…" Nikki looked around awkwardly, "We're fine."

Sofi giggled, and Nikki stared at her.

"What?" Nikki asked, somewhat defensive. Normally, Sofi would have been offended by the tone, and just stop talking to Nikki, but they definitely created a sister-like relationship with the endless hours of sitting there, and "looking pretty" as Angel and Jack called it.

Sofi shook her head, "Nothing. It just seems like Jackie made you choke on your food."

Nikki shook her head from left to right, faster than Sofi was, "Nope, nope. We're just me and Jack. Jack and I."

"You sure?" Sofi asked, and Nikki slowly looked up at her.

Nikki bellowed in the silence, before mumbling, with a pouted face, "Sofi, I'm confused."

Sofi laughed, "About what, honey?"

"About Jack," Nikki said, dipping her chicken into the hot sauce, quickly putting it into her mouth so the hot sauce wouldn't drop. "Last night, we had this… moment."

Sofi smiled at her, "It sounds like something's happening between you two."

Nikki sat there, "But it's Jack. What if it doesn't work out? Sadly enough, I just can't have this awkwardness between us. I need Jack and I to be… well, me and Jack," Nikki said, surprised that she was admitting this to Sofi, since she didn't even admit it to herself how much she actually needed him.

"Well, whatever happens happens, right?" Sofi said, with a wink. She sat up in excitement, seeing the lights of the car appear. She ran to the door and Nikki smiled at how cute she was in expecting Angel.

Nikki sat on the couch, thinking to herself. "I don't know," Nikki mumbled. She didn't know if she wanted to risk the relationship that they shared just to take a _chance_ on being together. He was Jack, not just some kid she could take a risk. She had enough trouble trusting people, but putting her and the one she trusted with her life, on the line, was way too risky. He was her rock, he was Jack.

He was Jack. He was the one walking in with the face that she saw right through. The disappointment. The confusion. Bobby stormed past, into the kitchen, and Sofi tried to talk to Angel, whose scowl was plastered on his face. She followed him upstairs, and Jack stood there, staring at Nikki, his eyes begging for her to walk over and comfort him. She put her plate down, turned the TV off, and stood in front of him, looking up.

"Hey," She said, looking at his clenched jaw, and tired eyes. "You all right?"

Jack shook his head, "Not really."

"You wanna talk?" She asked, knowing well what his answer would be. He simply nodded, unable to even say yes. Her face softened, and she felt the urge to hug him. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling his heartbeat, as his arms wrapped around her.

His head leaned down, and she could feel his head atop of hers. She closed her eyes, and hugged him a little tighter, when she heard him mumble, "I don't know what's going on anymore."

- - - - - - - - -

Rubbing his back in comfort, Nikki's head hung low, just as Jack's did. His palms were pressed against his eyes, and he shook his head. He mumbled to himself, barely audible for Nikki to hear, "I can't believe Jerry's doin this, Nick." He let go of his face, and Nikki found no tears in his eyes. But she found aggravation and a sense of hopelessness to all that was going on. "How could he do this to us? That's not even all of it, he didn't even tell us. He's keeping secrets."

Not knowing what to do, Nikki grabbed him, trying her best to reach up above his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. "Jerry's not like that, Jackie, I'm sure it's a misunderstanding." She pulled away from the hug, and Jack shook his head.

"Tell Bobby that. He doesn't know what to believe anymore," Jack said, looking down at the floor. "Neither do I."

Nikki looked down as well, slowly making eye contact with Jack, "Well, you know I'm here, right?"

The two, inches apart, stared as their eyes burned into each other, heart rate beating faster and faster. Jack slowly inched closer to Nikki, as she sat stone still. Licking his bottom lip in nervousness, Nikki sat there, looking up at him, unsure of what was happening.

Cautiously, Jack leaned his head down, his nose touching Nikki's, their breath melding into one. They closed their eyes, and Jack moved in, kissing her lightly at first. Soon after the first soft kiss, came another, intensifying by each one. Jack's hand soon came to the small of Nikki's back, as lay it there, unsure if he should pull her closer. Feeling her lips start to part, he pulled her closer, feeling her arms soon wrap around his neck. Breaking away from her lips, Jack moved down to her neck, feeling her start to run her fingers through his hair.

Connecting their lips back together, Nikki edged closer to Jack, as their bodies touched, and their lips parted. Making the first move, Jack put his tongue into her mouth. Lightly pulling his hair, Nikki felt Jack's body start to move forward, as she leaned back. Nikki shuddered a little, as their tongues danced, and Jack's warm hand made contact with her skin. Lying down, Jack put his arms at Nikki's sides, careful in putting his weight on her. His hand slowly made its way up and down her back, as he swore that their heartbeats were pounding at the same rate.

Jack felt his heart stop for a second as Nikki stopped tugging at his hair in pleasure, and she started to pull away.

"Jack," She whispered, breaking away from the kiss, and Jack kept his eyes shut. "Jack," She said, again, and he knew he had to face the reality of what they had just done. His eyes slowly opened, and he stared right into hers. "What are we doing?"

He smiled, trying to make it seem like he didn't know what she was going to say, "I'm pretty sure you know what we're doing."

She smiled back, but in an awkward way, "No, I mean…" She sighed, looking away for a second. "I'm not a backstage slut, and you're not a part-time boyfriend. You're Jackie, my best friend. And I'm Nikki, your best friend." She sighed in confusion, "I mean, what are we doing?"

Jack stared at her as he pulled his weight off her, and sat up, his legs hanging off the bed.

"Jack-" She started, but Jack turned around to her.

"I wanna do what we're doing," He said, bluntly. "I mean, you feel it, right? We work so fucking good together, Nikki. But we're not." He stared at her, "Why?" She didn't answer, she merely looked down. "I mean, I'm pretty sure we're each others types, and are pretty fucking great to be together."

She glanced up, "We are."

"Honestly, I think I've always liked you. It was just 'cause it was us that I never wanted to think about it," He turned his body to her. "Come on, Nikki. What is it, then?"

She shook her head, "I don't know."

"You scared?" He asked, trying to get her to look at him, "You don't have to be scared, Nikki, it's me."

She finally gave in, and looked at him, smiling a little, "That's it, though." She paused, staring at him, watching his face crumble in disappointment. "It's you."

Jack sighed, as well as looked down. He blinked, licking his bottom lip again, "Well then, I guess we shouldn't be doin' this then."

Nikki brought her knees against her body, and hugged her arms around them. "I just… I don't know," She whispered.

Running a hand past his face, Jack whispered back, "It's all right, I get it."

With that Jack, got off the bed, went to turn off the light, and slipped into the sleeping bag. Sitting there, in the silence, Nikki finally made a move, and slipped under the covers. She pulled the pillow closer to her, and hugged it, feeling her shake a little from how hard she hugged it. She bit her bottom lip, and urged herself to go sleep, not moving a muscle, and her eyes tightly shut not letting any of the tears seep through.

- - - - -

But as hard as she tried, she couldn't sleep. At first, she couldn't sleep because of the tension that still filled the room as their heads hit the pillow. But she still couldn't sleep when Jack started to snore, sleeping it off. The easiest way he dealt with things was just to sleep right through it. Nikki stared at the ceiling, giving up on trying and just lay there thinking.

'_What did you just do? You had it, and you ran away like a scared little bitch. This was Jackie. You might've just lost him faster than you could have if you just went with your fucking feelings, and told him you feel the same way. But no, now you hurt him when he was at his lowest_. _What a great fucking best friend you are_.' Nikki closed her eyes, blocking the tears to even start up again. "God," She mumbled and groaned, rolling over on her stomach to try to sleep the pain away.

"_What's happening?" Jack ran down the stairs, seeing Nikki struggling in Evelyn's arms. _

"_Jack, hold Nikki, make sure she doesn't go outside!" Evelyn instructed, and Jack followed the command, holding Nikki in a hug. Evelyn ran into the kitchen, grabbing the phone to call 911. _

_Jack wrapped an arm around Nikki's stomach, holding her tightly, "Nikki, what's going on?"_

"_My uncle!" Nikki yelled, turning around to face Jack, "He's gonna kill Bobby!" _

_Jack shook his head, "No, no, don't worry about Bobby. He'll be fine. Are you okay?" Jack asked her, asking the frantic eyes, and shaking body, inspecting her arms for bruises, and her face for any red marks. She nodded, and he held her hands. "Look at me," He squeezed her hands, "Nick, come on, look at me." Slowly, she slowed her breathing, and looked up, "It's going to be okay. I'm here. We're here. No matter what it's gonna be okay, because you and me, are always going to be there for each other. All right?" Nikki smiled, because these were the words she usually threw at him. He smirked back, "I mean it. No matter what, you'll always have me." Nikki nodded. In a second, her whole body jumped from the shot, as her eyes stapled shut. Wrapping his arms around her, and putting his hands over her ears, Jack slammed his eyes shut, resting his head upon hers. _

- - - - - - - -

Jack stared at Nikki, sitting down at the edge of the bed. Slowly, he lifted his hand up, and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Sighing, he put his hand, lightly on her head, feeling her hair under his finger tips as he whispered her name, "Nikki." He repeated, and slowly her eyes opening, squinting at the light. She stared at him, confused, and then he could tell by her face that she remembered what had happened the night before. "Bobby wants to talk to you about something," He said, standing up.

Nikki nodded, sitting up, "Okay."

At the doorway, Jack paused, and then turned around to face her, "Nick?" She looked up, "About last night. I still mean it. I'm not gonna take it back, or pretend like it didn't happen to us. I know you feel it."

Before Nikki could reply, Jack was too far in range to hear her whisper. She looked down, slouching, not seeing Angel at the doorway.

"You all right, pretty girl?" Angel asked, and Nikki looked up, startled at first. Nikki nodded, "You're such a bad liar to us Mercers'." Angel said, walking in, and sitting at the edge of the bed. "Something happen with you and Jack?"

Nikki nodded, "I don't think I can fix it for a while."

"Just tell him how you feel," Angel said, and she glanced up.

"How did you-"

"I heard what he said in the hall," Angel explained. "It was bound to happen with you two anyway." Nikki looked back down, "Telling you Little Nikki, it's supposed to happen. Things like you and Cracker Jack don't just happen without no plans. You two supposed to be together." Angel said, and she looked at him, biting her bottom lip. "Me and Sofi were best friends." Nikki raised a surprised eyebrow, "Well we were best friends for a few weeks before we started fucking, but you get the point. Look at me and Sofi, dysfunctional, but still me and Sofi. You know?" Nikki nodded, "So tell him. Be you and Jack already." Angel stood up, "You got me?"

Nikki smiled, knowing he was waiting for an audible response, "Yes, sir."

"Good," Angel said, making Nikki give a laugh to his response.

"Angel?" He turned to face her, "Thanks."

Angel nodded; walking down the stairs, putting his serious face on, knowing what had to be done next.

It was time to confront Jerry, and it was going to make the tension in the house unbearable, which was exactly why Bobby was going to instruct Nikki to stay upstairs no matter what she heard from the living room. From yelling to things breaking, he would tell her to keep her ass upstairs. But he didn't know about the gunshots that would ring throughout the street.

- - - - - - -

_A/N; Ah yes, it finally happened! Throw confetti. But I'm sorry for ruining that moment. I think some of you may dislike Nikki right now for what she did, but you may get a clearer understanding in later chapters, if you are baffled to why she would do that to our lovely Jackie. Anyway, hope you guys liked it, I'm pretty nervous to see if you guys will like this chapter. Thanks for the reviews, they're great, and they definitely keep me writing/finishing this story. So please, keep the feedback/thoughts/reviews coming.  
_


	10. You and Me

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything other than Nikki.

- - - - - - - - -

_Wait, I thought the city cut you off, Jerry. _

Nikki edged closer on the top step of the stairs, hearing Jack's voice contribute to the fight. She knew he was grabbing onto the couch, with his nails digging in. She also knew that his eyes were wide in fear of what might happen, and that he could only bear to say a few things.

_Douglas? Come on, man. This is Detroit. Sweet owns Douglas._

Nikki jumped up a little, hearing the doorbell ring. She couldn't quite see who it was, so she ran into Jack's bedroom, in case Bobby saw her sitting there. She didn't want his anger to be directed towards her also.

_Hey look, fuck you man. I will kick your-_

Nikki's eyebrows scrunched together, confused to who Jack was talking to. Slowly she crawled onto the bed. She stayed to the right of the window, watching as Jack grabbed a snow ball running after him. Turning to face the stairs for a second, as Bobby yelled Jack, Nikki's stomach tightened feeling that something wasn't right. She turned back to the window, and there it was.

The silence broken with a gun shot. It wasn't just a gunshot at a beer bottle. It was one that went right into her best friend. It was as if she was watching in slow motion as Jack fell onto his knees. Nikki's jaw dropped slightly, as she choked back a sob, her eyes quickly watering up. Her eyes were wide, her heart not beating at all, her body not moving an inch as if Jack's life depended on it.

Nikki's shoulders jumped as she watched the man with Jason Voorhees-esque hockey mask fly back. Confused, Nikki pressed her face against the cold window, looking down, seeing Bobby come out from the house. Nikki looked up, jaw dropping slowly as she saw a van of masked gun-men jump out. She watched as Jack tried to limp away.

"Shit," Nikki whispered to herself as they pointed their guns towards Jack. Nikki yelled one loud 'no', as Jack went down into the snow. Sitting down on the bed, and against the wall, Nikki put her two hands over her mouth. She quickly jumped off the bed as the gunshots fired continuously. On her hands and knees, staying low, Nikki turned around to see Jack's cell-phone on the night table. Shaking, she quickly crawled over, and grabbed it. Her shoulders jumped, the shots were deafening, as she ran to the bathroom, her knees sliding against the wooden floor.

Holding the cell phone tightly, her hand shaking violently, Nikki tried her best to get it together. Flipping the cell-phone open, Nikki tried her best in dialing 911. It was harder trying to give information. Nikki stared forward as the woman on the phone asked her questions, repeating it three or four times just so Nikki could realize what she was saying, and reply back.

Shutting the phone off, Nikki heard Angel run up the stairs. "Nick!" He yelled, and Nikki crawled to the door. He saw her from the corner of his eye as he ran into Evelyn's room, a gun in hand. "Stay right there, Nikki! Don't move!"

Nikki nodded, and whispered like a little kid, "Okay."

Sliding herself against the tiles in the bathroom, Nikki sat in between the shower and toilet, hugging her knees, and closing her eyes. She glued them shut until the shots quieted down to silence. "Jack," She said, opening her eyes, and crawling to the door. She peeked from the bathroom door, and retreated hearing a few shots fire towards the window in Evelyn's room. Poking her head back out the door, she watched as Angel kicked the glass out of the way, and climbed out. She crawled over to try and stop him, but he was already gone.

Avoiding the glass coating the floor, Nikki jumped onto Jack's bed, watching the two cars collide. Seeing that all the shooters were dead, Nikki looked down the window to see Bobby and Angel hurry to Jack. Breathing hard, she saw Jack start to shake, and she jumped off the bed, jumping over pieces of glass, and ran down the stairs. Nikki jumped down a few steps, and ran out of the door, with only her socks on.

"Nick, come here. Keep talkin' to Jack," Bobby yelled the instruction, turning and picking up the gun off the street. Nikki nodded, sliding into the snow, next to Jack, watching as he turned paler.

"Jack, hey, hey," Nikki said, holding his chin so he would face her. "Come on, come on, look at me," She said, her voice cracking at every word, and his eyes fluttered open. She watched the color in his eyes slowly turning grayer than blue, by the moment. "Ah shit, Jackie," She said, taking a deep breath, looking down at the blood rushing out of him. She saw him open his mouth, the blood covering his teeth, and dribbling down his cheek. "No," She said, getting it together, holding back the sobs and tears, giving him a stern look. She wiped his face, and stared at him, thinking.

"Angel, turn him over," She said gulping, and Angel looked at her, unable to comprehend anything at this point. "Turn him over," Nikki said again, and Angel did so. Holding up his upper body as his knees were against the ground, Nikki watched as Jack coughed blood out, knowing it would buy them time until the ambulance came. "Jerry," Nikki called out, and Jerry crawled to her side, "Put pressure on his right shoulder, maybe the bleeding will stop a little." Nikki's shoulders jumped, hearing the last gun shot of the day.

"Jackie," She said, kneeling against the snow, next to him, and trying to look up at him. She could see his eyes start to close, breathing slow down, and Angel started having trouble in holding up Jack's body, that was starting to give in by the second. "Jack, please, look at me," Nikki said, as Jack struggled to open his eyes. Nikki stared right into Jack, knowing he wasn't letting go because of the words that she was telling him. Nikki gave in to the tears that formed in her eyes, one flowing down her cheek. She bit her bottom lip, getting ready to block out the tears to help Jack through.

"Jackie, you can't leave me," Nikki said, shaking her head. She let out a small whimper, without wanting to, taking her surprise. She was trying her hardest to keep strong, but it was getting harder by the minute. "I can't fucking do it without you. You're all I have, so you- you're gonna have to hold on. You have to breathe and keep looking at me, okay?" Nikki stared as Jack's eyes burned into her, "We're gonna be okay. It's all gonna be okay. You and me. We always gotta do it together, right?" She watched as his eyes roll back, "Jackie, no," Nikki said, in a panic. Slowly she got his attention again, and Nikki's face softened. "If you leave me now, then we can't be together," Nikki smiled a little as she said this, not sure if Jack was giving her a tiny smirk, or if she was just imagining it.

Taking her eyes off Jack for a moment, she looked at the street hearing the ambulance coming closer. "See Jackie, it's gonna be okay," She sniffled, turning to face his body limp, and eyes closed. Nikki stared, furrowed her eyebrows, and held his face in her hands, "Jack." He didn't budge. She gulped. "Jack," Nikki repeated as the ambulance parked, medicals running out. "Jackie," Nikki said a little louder, and gripped onto his face a little more. Angel laid him on his back, as they rushed over to him.

Bobby pulled Nikki away before she could put a hand over his heart, to make sure he was still breathing. "No, no," Nikki repeated, shaking her head, trying to jump out of Bobby's grasp, "Wait, no. Bobby, wait!" She yelled, wanting just to check for a heartbeat, as Bobby pulled her farther and farther away, so they could do their job. Giving up, Nikki turned around to look at Bobby, whose face looked more scared than she ever saw it before. She turned her head, watching as they crowded around him.

- - - - - - -

_**Anon:**__ Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you like the story. _

_**Jayy:**__ Thanks for the review, and yeah poor Jackie. Ay, Nikki and her worrying thoughts. _

_A/N: So I've been extremely sketchy about this chapter, and kinda scared to post it, to see how you'd guys react. I just didn't know if it captured the right emotion that the movie had since Nikki isn't in the action, she's just kind of behind the scenes. Ah, and I know I've had her very behind the scenes but in this chapter she's definitely in it. _

_The reviews are great. I love them a lot a lot, they definitely keep me writing, and make me want to make the story perfecto for those who read and review. Keep those reviews/thoughts/feedback coming.  
_

_I'm thinking of changing the summary, do you guys think I should? It just doesn't seem to fit the story, but I also don't want to make it sound cliché. Anyway, tell me if you think I should, or its fine the way it is. _

_Damn, way too long of an author's note. _


	11. You're a Mercer

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything but Nikki. _

_Flashback is in italics._

- - - - - - - -

_Walking up the stairs, Bobby, Jerry, and Angel slowly walked through the hallway, cautious of what surrounded them. It felt eerie. Johnny had died, and his room was still there, the door wide open, his clothes covering the floor. It was as if he never left. It was as if he was still here. But the obvious silence and tension didn't prove so. _

_The three stood in front of Johnny's room, looking in, and finding a sign that maybe it was all a joke, and there would be a change in Johnny's room, like an extra thrown shirt on the floor. But there wasn't. It was the same. Untouched. Unclean. Uncomfortable. _

"_I'm gonna go check up on Nikki," Bobby grumbled, his formal shoes clicking against the floor. He loosened his tie a little, knowing he would have to be serious in what he was going to say to her. _

_Jerry and Angel looked at each other, before watching Bobby enter the bedroom, down the hall. _

_Bobby stood in front of the doorway, giving a little knock against the wooden door. But the six-year-old didn't budge. She didn't say anything. But she also wasn't sleeping. Her eyes were wide open, wide and red from the crying. Bobby walked in, his shoes sinking into the carpet, as he sat on the side of her bed. _

"_Nikki," Bobby said. "Baby," He put a hand on her shoulder. She pushed it away with her tiny fingers, "Baby, I know this is hard for you, but you have to get out of this room. You've been in here for days. You don't eat. You don't sleep. It ain't healthy Nikki, you gonna die this way."_

_Nikki lifted her head, and glared, "He left me." She growled, and Bobby's eyes got wide in surprise, "He left me!" She yelled, sitting up. "Why did he die? Why, Bobby?" Her fists were clenched as Jerry and Angel ran to her door, all eyes on her. Nikki's face crumbled, and her eyes blurred with tears, "He left me." She sobbed, "I don't have anyone anymore." She said, grabbing her hair, and pulling it over her face. _

"_Hey, hey," Bobby said, pulling her towards him as soon as she said it. "You're not alone, Nikki, you got us."_

_Nikki gave into Bobby, wrapping her arms around him. _

"_Yeah, Nikki," Angel said, he and Jerry walking to sit on her bed. "You got us."_

_Jerry rubbed her back, "Whenever you need us, we there, Nikki."_

"_You're our little sister," Bobby said, and she looked up at the Mercer boys surrounding her. "Whoever messes with you, messes with us. And it's gonna be okay. You know why? You're a Mercer, and Mercer's never give up."_

Bobby kept one hand on the steering wheel, the windshield wipers passing by, clearing the flurries falling from the vision of the car. His furrowed eyebrows softened a little, glancing at Nikki, who was sitting stone-still against the passenger seat, her back straight, and hands in her lap. Her facial expression was zoned out, and her eyes stayed open, barely blinking as she stared out the window.

"Hey," Bobby said, and she blinked once. "You all right?"

At first, Nikki stared, realizing after a few seconds that Bobby was talking to her. She blinked once more before looking over at Bobby, who glanced at her, before directing his eyes back to the road. She made eye contact with him, before looking away, not even answering the questions.

"He's gonna wake up, Nikki," Bobby said, trying to reassuring her with his stern and confident tone. "He will. He's a Mercer. He'll wake up."

"It's been three days, Bobby," Nikki said, voice low. "Three days. It isn't long compared to other people who stay in coma for months, or even years, but three days. And it feels like it's been forever."

"It's because you don't sleep," Bobby said, looking at Nikki, still staring. "Look at me," He instructed, having to say it again because Nikki still refused. "Baby, he's gonna wake up. He didn't die on us. He's gonna wake up."

Nikki blinked, "Bobby-"

"Don't 'Bobby' me, Nikki. I fucking mean it," Bobby said, now looking at her directly in the eyes. "You kept him alive by talking him through it. He's gonna wake up. He's gonna wake up for you, and for me, and for all of us." He looked back at the road, "He will."

Nikki nodded, "Okay."

"He loves us. He'll come back," Bobby said, reassuring himself. Bobby didn't believe in much, but he believed in family. It was all he had to believe in. Especially now after all that had happened, they stuck through it together, as a family. "He wouldn't leave you alone." Nikki closed her eyes, "You just gotta keep strong for him, all right?"

Nikki nodded, "Okay."

"Now, come on," Bobby said, parking the car in the hospital parking lot. "Let's go say hi."

Nikki opened the door, bringing along her duffle bag. She had positioned a sleeping chair for herself for the past three nights. She refused to leave the hospital, but Bobby refused right back. She only took one trip to the house to shower, eat, and bring clothes. Waiting until Nikki was walking next to him, Bobby put an arm around her shoulder, and held her to his side. "It's gonna be all right. I promise you that," He said, as she slowly began to raise her arms to wrap around Bobby.

- - - - - - -

"You gonna be all right, here?" Angel asked, Nikki turning around to give him a look. "I know you've been stayin' here for days, no need for sarcastic remarks. But I'm just askin', you gonna be all right?" Nikki nodded.

"Call us if you need us," Jerry said, and Nikki nodded again.

"Don't leave the hospital," Bobby pointed, and Nikki nodded, glaring. She didn't plan on leaving, she just didn't like the way Bobby said it to her.

The three turned around, heading for the door, "Oh." Bobby turned around, and Nikki looked up, "Don't cry anymore; Cracker Jack hates it. Always makes him feel so bad that the fucking fairy starts to cry, too. And we," Bobby looked at Jerry and Angel, "Can't stand it."

Nikki smiled, "Okay." They turned to the door, "Wait." They looked at her, "Don't none of you fuckin' die, all right? I don't want no bullet holes in you when I see you guys again. Don't fucking die. Be careful, and be smart, especially you Bobby. Do not fucking die. Got it straight?" Bobby laughed, "I'm not shittin' you. I mean it," Nikki said, face serious.

Bobby stopped laughing, "Yeah, Nick, alive. We swear."

Nikki laughed, "All right good, because when Jack wakes up, I want him to see all of you." They all nodded, Jerry waving a goodbye, and looking at Jack before he was out of sight at the doorway.

Nikki sighed, watching them leave, and glanced at Jack, hooked up the IV, the sound of the machines the only thing that accompanied her through her nights where she would be half asleep just in case a rustle from Jack's bed would come, in hopes that he was awake. But there he was, eyes closed, still breathing. No change. Not for the past three nights. She watched. She went back to Evelyn's to change, shower, and eat. But other than that her days consisted of waiting.

Nikki stared, and whispered, "You're a Mercer, and Mercer's never give up." She stood up, slowly walking over to Jack, putting his hand in hers, "So wake up for me, please."

* * *

_All right, since you won't be getting the review reply right away, might as well just put it here. _

_Blackangle2011: Aw, thanks for your review. I'm glad it actually got to your emotions, I was pretty scared that it wouldn't have that affect that I wanted.  
Shariena: Thanks for the review._

_donna79: Ah yay, you're back. One of my favorite reviewers for all my stories because you always give me wonderful feedback. Ah yeah, I know I through that aggravating loop with Nikki, but I just had to. It'd be easy, and perfect if it just worked out perfectly. But I will try to hurry it up, promise. Thanks for the review._

_Sweet-Romantic: Ah yes, had to let Jack leave. I was in some serious debating to if I should kill off Jack or not, but if I did kill him off, Nikki would pretty much be useless, because of the relationship she has with Jack. But a coma, no dead Jack, which is always good. Thanks for the review._

_DaTwistedSisters: I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the review._

_A/N: Hope you guys liked the chapter, I have a spot for it just because you get to see how Nikki can't really function at all without Jack by her side. Ah, makes me smile to see that people like this story. Leave the feedback/reviews coming, please. Opinions are a wonderful thing._


	12. Just For Today

_Disclaimer: I own Nikki, nothing else. Oh, and the quote is straight from that old school show on Nick at Night, 'The Wonder Years.' Edit: Hah, stupid me, I own Mary too.  
_

_New summary: It's all about drama, love, and relationships. It's time for the brothers to come home and face all the things they've been running from, to find the love in family again, and for Jack to realize a few things about sexual tension with the opposite sex._

- - - - -

"_All of our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone that makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope. All the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect who might be searching for us."_

The audio streamed from the tiny TV, hung above the room, with Nikki's eyes plastered on the pixilated screen. She always was captivated by Kevin Arnold's undeniable love for Winnie Cooper, the girl next door. She smiled, hearing the hopelessness of Kevin Arnold's love. She and Jack used to watch the late reruns of the sitcom, "The Wonder Years" when they were younger. They still did, if they could catch an episode. Evelyn made them watch it to make them stop fighting one day, and it worked pretty well.

"Hey, baby," Nikki looked over the chair that she moved in the hospital room, right next to Jack. Her legs were hanging off the side, and her body fell into the chair. "You sleep yet?" The nursed asked, checking on Jack's vitals.

Nikki shook her head. She made a new relationship with one nurse, who gave her the good food, and provided her with a blanket and a pillow, "No, not yet, Mary."

"You should, Nikki," She advised, and Nikki nodded. "You'll wake up if he does, promise you." Nikki nodded again. Mary looked at Nikki look down, jaw clenched, and taking a big breath. "Do you love him, honey?"

Nikki looked up, surprised, "What?"

"Do you love him?" Mary asked again, a little louder, with a comforting smile.

Nikki looked over at Jack, and she nodded slowly, "Yeah."

"Does he love you?"

"Oh," Nikki shook her head. "I don't know."

"No, you do know, honey, does he love you?" She asked, and Nikki up at her, eyes wide again.

"Uh," Nikki made contact with their fingers. "Yeah."

Mary smiled, taking her clipboard, "Then he'll wake up."

Nikki smiled back, as Mary left the room. Nikki sat up, her socks touching the cold hospital floor. "Love?" She said aloud. "Hah, love," Nikki said, smiling to herself, wondering if Jack could hear her.

- - - - - -

After "The Wonder Years" ended, Nikki leaned back and decided maybe it was time to get a few minutes of shut eye. She slowly took her hand out of Jack's, and laid it beside his. She didn't want to grab his hand if she woke up in a jolt. In her exhaustion, she was able to fall half asleep in a few minutes. Half asleep. It was the only way she was asleep for the past few days. But with her eyes shut, she couldn't see the wiggle of Jack's finger. She couldn't see his eyes start to part, squinting from the bright light. She couldn't see him smile a little from seeing her.

But she did see the hand that latched onto hers. Snapping her eyes open, and waking up in surprise. Nikki's eyes were wide, and she sat up, staring at Jack, before jumping onto her feet and hovered a hug over him. Jack smiled, as he closed his eyes from her hair that was in his face. She pulled away, and held his face in her hands.

"Holy shit," She said, and Jack gave a husky laugh. "Oh, water, water. The nurses said to give you water," She said, and Jack gave her a squeeze on her hand before she ran to get water from the night table across the room. She ran in a wobbling motion, and lifted his head a little to get him to drink.

She sat down on the chair, pulling it closer to him, and set the glass on the floor. After settling down, Nikki sat there and stared, giving a sigh. "Ah, Jackie," She said, and Jack stared back at her.

She watched, as Jack opened his mouth, and whispered a few words, "Did you miss me?"

Nikki gave a laugh, "You don't even know how much."

"I knew you would," Jack said, with a smirk.

Nikki shook her head, "I missed that voice. I was stuck listening to the crappy songs your band recorded in a basement. Seriously, you guys have to get to a recording studio." Jack gave a laugh.

"Are you mad at me?"

Nikki gave him a weird look, "Why would I be mad at you?"

"I was stupid and opened the door," He said, and Nikki thought it over for a moment.

"Well, if you weren't in a coma, and woke up earlier, I might have been. But you've been gone too long for me to pretend like I'm mad," She said, and Jack smiled, giving a tiny nod. "You mad at me?"

Jack looked at her oddly, "About what?"

"That night," Nikki looked down. "I don't know why-"

"I know," Jack said, and she looked up. "It's okay. You kept me alive by talking me through. I think we're even."

Nikki stared, her eyes softening, "God, Jack, if you died…" She shook her head.

Jack shook his head too, "Wouldn't die if I was leaving you behind."

Nikki grinned, "We can only be corny for today, okay? Because you just woke up. Other than today, back to bickering and being us."

Jack laughed, "All right, sounds good." Slowly, Jack laid his left arm across the bed, and Nikki stared at him, trying to help him, confused to what he was even doing. He looked down at the spot, and mumbled, "Get some sleep."

Nikki shook her head at their actions. She wasn't used to being cutesy with Jack, or anyone for that matter, but she only allowed it, and basked it in for a few minutes because he came back to her. Slowly, she lay on the bed, making sure Jack's arm was directly under her neck so she wouldn't hurt him, or put any pressure on his arm.

"Nikki?" He asked, and she mumbled a yeah, already falling into slumber. "Hah, you're falling asleep quick."

"Because you're okay, I can finally get some sleep," Nikki mumbled, and Jack smiled to himself. "What did you wanna say?"

"You were right in what you told Mary," Jack said, and Nikki looked up at him, with tired eyes.

"You heard what Mary said?" Nikki asked, and Jack nodded.

"I remember hearing some conversations, always heard your voice because you were always here," Nikki blushed a little. When she was highly emotional and she told Jack a lot of things that she wouldn't have said, unless they were having a corny conversation about how much they liked each other. She felt even stupider telling him how she felt, considering she was just having a conversation by herself. "But you told Mary that I loved you, and I know she didn't mean the 'you're my best friend' and I love you kind of way," Nikki blushed even more, especially since she wasn't completely sure if Jack loved her the way she said yes too. "Well, I do," He kissed her forehead quickly again, and squeezed her shoulder, "Just wanted you to know."

Nikki wrapped her arm a little tighter around Jack. The two finally letting their comforting silence take over them.

"Wow," Jack broke it.

"Way too corny for us, I know. It'll wear off a little later," Nikki mumbled. "Hopefully, it will."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, finally giving in to the silence completely.

- - - - - -

_A/N: I think that's the first fluff chapter I've really had in this story, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I don't know if they're gonna be the same cutesy ever again, just because it's not really in their relationship. Unless you guys like it, then sure, maybe a tad bit more of the cute corny stuff here and there. Emails are back! Hooray, now you guys can know when I update. Not much to say, other than, of course I had to bring Jack back. What the hell would Nikki do if he didn't? Anyway, on to the chapter, thanks for the feedback, please keep the feedback/reviews coming._

_Oh, and I changed the summary, I think it fits more than the older one.  
_


	13. Back To Normal

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Nikki, and the mention of Mary.

- - - - -

Jack's head bopped back and forth, his fingers moving as if his guitar was in his hand. His eyes were closed, and he mouthed lyrics. He groaned, opened his eyes, and looked at Nikki, who was sitting in the chair, with her feet on the bed, crossed, and next to Jack.

"Can you change the song? This makes me want to play, and it makes me mad that I can't," He said, leaning his head against the wall, sitting up, pillows lined across his back.

Nikki glanced up, her face still down. She raised an eyebrow, "You asked me to play that song." She said, the iPod headphones sitting on the bed between them, playing music for the silent room to hear.

Jack rolled his eyes, "I know, just change it. No rock though, makes me upset."

"You're being a brat," Nikki mumbled, her thumb zooming past. "What do you want me to play?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't care."

She stared at him for a few seconds, giving him a look. "Goodness, Jackie, you're such a girl," She said, and smirked. Soon enough the music of N'Sync filled the room, and Jack glared. "Old school N'Sync baby."

Jack shook his head, "Change the song."

"You fucking like it," Nikki said, not even looking at him.

"Nikki, you know I hate this song," Jack said, trying to reach forward and grab the iPod. Nikki merely held it closer to her. "You always used to play this all the time, and you know I hate this song because of that," He said, still trying, as 'Bye Bye Bye' continued to play.

Giving up on that task, Jack looked down at her leg, squeezed the spot in her thigh, close to her knee, that always made her jump from how much it tickled her. To top it off, he pulled her leg towards him, almost pulling her off the chair completely, as she held on to the arm rests. He smirked, and lightly bit down onto her knee.

She kicked her leg free, almost kicking him in the face, and threw a fist at him, until he put his hand out, yelling, "You can't hit a person who just got shot!" Nikki growled, "Don't make me bring Mary in here." Jack threatened, and Nikki pulled her leg off the bed, pulling herself up, and sat on top of her feet.

"Such an asshole," She mumbled, the iPod still in hand, and replayed the song from the beginning.

Jack groaned, and tilted his head back, covering his ears, and closing his eyes. He opened his eyes, and stared at Nikki, "Nick?" She refused to answer. "Seriously, Nick."

"What, asshole?" She asked, not looking at him.

He brought his head down, "Can you believe we're only eighteen and nineteen?"

She paused the iPod and put it down. She looked at him, and slowly shook her head, "No, I can't sometimes."

"Right?" He sat up a little more, "I mean, we've been through all this shit, and it's crazy that we're so young. I mean I got fucking shot. I'm not just saying it to annoy you that time, but I'm saying I'm nineteen, and I almost died." Nikki cringed, "Sorry."

She shook her head, "It's okay. But yeah, I know what you mean. It's like we know nothing but bad shit in life. It's pretty sad, if you think about it. Maybe that's why you're so emo sometimes."

Jack smiled. He let a small silence come up, before saying with confidence, "We should try being happy."

"Do we know how to do that?" Nikki asked, with a slight laugh in her tone.

"I don't know, but we should try it," Jack smiled, and Nikki nodded. "Do you know the first step of trying to be happy?"

"What?" Nikki smiled along, knowing it would be something corny.

"Being us," He said, and Nikki gave a laugh, knowing it was coming.

She stared at him, "We've always been us." She shrugged a little, "Now we can just make out and stuff."

"And stuff," Jack mumbled, smirking.

Nikki opened her mouth, having a response to the comment but ran to her phone before she could say anything. She dug through her purse, and pulled out her cell phone, answering in a hurry. Confused, Jack sat up a little to see her kneeling on the floor, nodding, and saying yes. She sighed, hanging up, and stood up to see Jack looking at her oddly.

"Uh, okay, I should probably tell you this now," Nikki said, giving him a smile, and Jack stared at her questioningly.

"What's happening?" Jack asked, and Nikki sat down in the chair. "What's goin' on? Are my brothers in trouble?"

Nikki shook her head, "I don't know."

"What?" Jack asked, completely confused.

"See, they went to go get Victor Sweet back today. The plan is just going through, Camille and Sofi just told me that it's going according to plan, so that's good." Jack stared at her, "I know I should've told you earlier." He stared.

"Nikki," Jack said, sternly.

"But I told them not to die, so it's all good," She leaned back into the chair. "It's all good!" Jackie stared at her. She smiled, "I like you." Facial expression stone. "I like you a lot." His eyes narrowed, "Geez, alright, let's just watch some fucking TV then." She sunk into her chair, facing the TV, trying to avoid his glare. He smirked to himself, liking the way it made her antsy.

- - - - -

A/N: Back to the old Jack and Nikki. This is basically just a filler chapter, I was thinking of just taking it away completely, but this is a chapter that makes sense because Jack finds out where the brothers are. Since this chapter is short, and there's not so much to it, I should update soon. Plus, the next chapter has funny drama, so it'll be fun. Thanks for the reviews you guys! Keep those reviews/feedback comin', please.


	14. Blast From The Past

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything Nikki, and two surprise visitors._

- - - - -

"I found the weed in your suitcase," Jack's eyes suddenly got wide, hearing Nikki mumble, with her eyes closed. His eyes directed towards her, and she smiled a little.

"Did you use any?" Jack asked, and Nikki's eyes opened. He smiled.

She sat up, "Nope, didn't use any."

"Yet," Jack muttered, and Nikki smirked.

She sighed, "I have to pee."

"Go," Jack said, groaning because he was tired of staying the hospital bed.

"I will," Nikki said, getting up. Nikki grabbed her Converses, slipping them on, and opened the door. She turned around, giving him a face, before leaving the room. Jack smiled to himself, and tried his best to grab her iPod. His head snapped up, watching as she frantically ran in, and closed the door behind her. Her eyes were wide, and she bit her bottom lip.

Jack grabbed the iPod with his finger tips, looking at her strangely, "You want me to go with you or somethin'?" He asked, placing the headphones into his ears.

She shushed him, and locked the door, taking big steps towards him, "Shit, they're here."

Jack took the left headphone out, "Who's here?"

"Them," Nikki's eyes got wider.

Jack made a face, "Who the hell are you talking about?"

Nikki glared, and then took a breath, "Jack."

"Nikki, how can you be getting mad at me right now? Who's here?" Jack asked, and Nikki thought.

She squealed, imitating, "Jackie." Jack's eyes got wide, and he shook his head, "Yeah, the squealer is here."

"How is she here? How does she know?" Jack asked, sitting himself up. "Well, get her out of here!"

"Yeah, just gonna push them out of the door, stuff them into a taxi, and tell them to go to the airport," Nikki replied, sitting down on the seat, her leg jiggling furiously.

"That sounds good," Jack smiled, and Nikki rolled her eyes. "Wait, who is she with?"

Nikki looked up, "Uh." She paused, giving Jack a small smile, "Jimmy."

Jack blinked, "Your boyfriend is here."

Nikki gave him a weird look, "You know he's not my boyfriend."

"Oh, come on Nikki, you know the kid still tends to think you guys are together," Jack said, taking the other headphone out, slamming his fist against the bed. "I don't wanna die in this fucking hospital bed. He's gonna kill me."

"He likes you, what are you talkin' about?" Nikki asked, and Jack shook his head.

"Not when he finds out about us being together," Jack said, and the two sat there, staring. "Wait, are we?"

"I don't know," Nikki said, shrugging.

"Well, we better-" Jack said, and Nikki spun around, seeing the door knob start to turn. It shook violently, and was accompanied by a series of knocks. "Well?"

Nikki looked back Jack, and stared at him, worriedly, "We'll just play it cool for now." She got up, "Put the headphones on, it might make the squeal not so loud."

Jack laughed to himself, putting them in, as Nikki opened the door to a blonde, who stood next to the tall boy, whose brown hair spiked into the air. She smiled uncomfortably, "Hey guys. You guys are here. In Detroit. In this hospital. Not in the city-"

"Why was the door locked?" The girl had her hand on her hip, asking before Nikki's ramble could commence.

"Well Alexis, it was locked because-" Before Nikki could finish, Alexis pushed past her. "Hey!" Nikki roared, sharp and rough, spinning around, "She did not just-" Her arm was pulled back by the guy, whose grasp was firm as Nikki tried to pull her arm back with intentions to pull Alexis's hair out. After calming down, Nikki turned to face the boy whose green eyes, always made her stare for a few seconds before snapping back to reality. She nodded, "Jimmy."

Jimmy smirked, grabbing her into a hug, with his tattoo covered arms, "Hey, baby." He kissed her forehead.

"Uh," Nikki wiggled out of his grasp, as smoothly as possible. "So, how'd you guys know we were here?"

"Oh my God! Jackie!" The three cringed from the noise, "Are you okay?" He stared at her, "Well, you guys were gone for so long-" Alexis said, already attaching her death grip on Jack's arm.

"We were gone for a week," Nikki stared at her, blinking.

"Well, we missed you," Jimmy said, putting his arm around Nikki. Nikki first looked up at Jimmy, and then looked at Jack, who eyes began to turn into slits. "So, Alexis asked Jack's room-mate where you guys were, and then some Spanish chic at the address we had said you guys were here."

Nikki scrunched her nose, and mumbled, "Goodness, Sofi."

"Can I talk to Nikki?" Jack said, quickly. Nikki gave him a weird look, seeing his jaw was clenched, and he inching away from Alexis in annoyance.

"Uh," Alexis looked at Jack, noticing the way he was pulling away from her. "Fine, okay, whatever."

Nikki shivered at her mouse-like voice, and glared as she passed by. Jimmy looked down at Nikki, confused to why they needed alone time when all they had was time to be alone.

"All right," Jimmy said, giving Jack a look, and closing the door behind him.

"How the fuck do you tolerate her? Even if you just hang out with her to sleep with her, how the fuck do you do it?" Nikki asked, groaning, and clenching her teeth. "Jesus, I wanna put her head through a wall just so I won't have to hear her voice anymore. Or my head through a fuckin' wall, it doesn't even fuckin' matter."

Jack shrugged, "She's hot."

"So, why are you spazzing? You okay?" Nikki asked, standing over Jack, her arms crossed.

"Come here," Jack said, and Nikki leaned in, confused, thinking that he had something to tell her, and wanted to whisper it. Surprised, Nikki raised an eyebrow as Jack took his hand, wrapped it behind Nikki's neck and pulled their faces into a kiss. Pecking her on lips before letting go of her, Nikki gave him a weird look, before standing upward. "We can not have your ex-boyfriend thinking you're his girlfriend anymore. It's driving me nuts. I like the guy. He buys us drinks, but when he put his arm around you." Jack's fists clenched, "I- we- he can not be doin' that."

Nikki gave a laugh, "There's a vain in your forehead that is throbbing right now. You're freakin' out, man."

"Well, I've never had a girlfriend like you before," Jack muttered, embarrassed by his extreme jealously.

"Wait, I'm your girlfriend?" Nikki asked. Jack shrugged, and Nikki did the same. "We'll deal with that later. So wait, you wanna tell them?" Jack nodded, "All right, you tell them."

Jack pointed to himself, "Me? I'm the one who got shot."

Nikki shut her eyes in frustration, "You can not keep usin' that excuse. We'll both tell them, okay?"

Jack nodded, "If that boy charges at me, I want you to stand in front of him. Do it for love."

Nikki rolled her eyes, and turned to the door. Before she could walk away, Jack grabbed her hand, and pulled her towards him. Pulling her black hair into one hand, as her side bangs hung over her face, she leaned into Jack, kissing him once. Jack shook his head, pulling her in again, and one more time, both of them smiling, and giving a laugh. Both of their eyes got instantly wide hearing the squeak of Alexis's voice.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?"

Nikki spun around, "Uh." She looked down at Jack, searching for an excuse. She bent over, and put her hands at the side of his pillow, "Well, you know I was just fluffing Jack's pillows." Jack smiled, and Nikki shot him a quick death glare, "and then." She stood up straight, seeing Jimmy's eyes get wider, "Jack fuckin' kissed me." She turned around; making an 'I'm sorry' face as she lightly slapped his right cheek. "See, but he won't do it again. Because he's uh…" She slapped him lightly, once more, "Learned his lesson."

Nikki stared at Alexis, whose eyebrow was raised, and Jimmy, who was glaring.

"Nikki, stop," Jack muttered. "We'll just tell them."

"Tell us what?" Jimmy asked, his voice rough, and full of intimidation.

Jack gulped, "Uh, well." Jack stared at Jimmy's eyebrow piercing, "Me and Nikki are kind of…"

"Together? You guys are together?" Alexis asked, as both Nikki and Jack made a face.

"I don't know if that's what you call it," Nikki looked back at Jack. "Is that what we are? Because if we were-"

"Yeah, not the time for that," Jimmy interrupted. "So now what?"

"Nikki," Bobby's voice echoed through the hospital hallway.

"Oh, shit," Nikki mumbled, knowing it would not be good to have two tough personalities like Jimmy and Bobby in a room together.

"How are you doin-" Bobby's eyebrows furrowed, seeing Alexis and Jimmy standing there. "Who the fuck are these people? It's like a fuckin' party in here."

"Jack!" Jerry yelled, as he and Angel ran to Jack's bedside, both giving him a hug.

"Nobody answered me," Bobby said, looking at Nikki. He paused to give Jack a smile, "Fairy." He gave Jack a nod.

Jack nodded back, "Bobby."

"Who the fuck are these two?" Bobby asked, pointing to Alexis and Jimmy, but looked at Nikki.

"We're the fucking ex's," Jimmy said, looking at Bobby up and down.

"Hey, me and Alexis were never actually ex's," Jack said, and Alexis's jaw dropped. "Yeah, should've have actually told you that though."

"Oh, your friends are here!" Sofi said, appearing at the door with Camille. She smiled at Nikki, who just shook her head. Confused, Sofi's smile faded, and her head cocked to the side, pouting a little. "Or not?" Nikki continued to shake her head, "Oops."

- - - - - - -

_A/N: Yeah, since the last chapter was short and just a filler type, here goes a chapter that says the past comes to bite people in the ass, specifically Jack and Nikki. It's a pretty long one, sorry about that. Feedback has been great, I love it, and it makes me want to make the chapters good enough, just so you guys can enjoy. Anyway, hope you guys like the drama. Kinda sketchy about this because I'm not sure if this type of drama fits into this story, so feedback and reviews please._

_**To those freakin' awesome anonymous reviewers: **_

_Joralie: Thanks for the review, glad you like my pairing and the story so far. _

_Jenny: Thanks for the review. Yeaah, I just couldn't kill Jack off, I just don't have the heart for it. _

_Lieke: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you don't think it ends up being cliché, because I was scared that it would end up like that. So I tried to give it a twist so that it wasn't quite like the others, but the idea is pretty similar. Your review was awesome, made me smile in my tired state this morning._


	15. Closure

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Nikki, Jimmy, and Alexis.

- - - - - -

"What the fuck did you just say to me, kid?" Bobby asked, growing angry at the look that Jimmy was giving him. "You wanna come a little closer while you lookin' at me like that, huh?"

"Why don't you grow a few more inches so I can look at you eye to eye?" Jimmy retorted, and Nikki's eyes got wide. She held Bobby's arm back, and stood in front of them.

"Hey, stop this shit right now. We're not in some fucking corny ass Spanish TV show, all right?" Nikki said, holding both of them away from the each other.

"Hey," Sofi pouted. "They're good."

Angel put his arm around Sofi, "Yes yes, they are baby." Angel said, looking at Jerry, his eyes wide, and shook his head.

"You," Nikki pointed at Jimmy. "Outside, now."

"Oh, come on, Nick, let's see what this little boy has got to offer," Bobby said, smirking. Jimmy shook his head, glaring, as Nikki pushed him farther and farther away.

"Bobby, shut up," Nikki muttered.

"No, really-" Bobby started again.

"Bobby!" Nikki yelled, and Bobby put his hands in the air, giving up, still keep eye contact with Jimmy. Nikki looked at Jack, rolled her eyes, and slammed the door behind her.

"Jimmy," Nikki said, looking around in the hallway, making sure no one was there to witness the fight she could feel coming. "Stop it, calm down, it's all right."

"Calm down?" Jimmy snarled, "How am I supposed to calm down? You're with Jack now, what about us?"

Nikki sighed, looking down, shifting her weight, "Jimmy, there hasn't been an 'us'."

"What are you talkin' about?" Jimmy asked, and she looked up. "There is an 'us'. We've been an 'us'."

Nikki shook her head, "We haven't been an 'us' for a while. We always end up back together, only because you think we're an 'us'."

"What, so this whole thing has been a lie?" Jimmy asked, sitting down on a bench, Nikki standing over him.

Nikki looked at him, and he stared at her, knowing that he hurt her feelings. She shook her head, "You know it's not like that, Jimmy." She sat next to him, "All we do is fight. It's just-" She paused, "It's just not there anymore, and I'm tired of pretending that it is."

Jimmy glanced over at Nikki, who elbows rested on her knees, and head stayed down. She was fiddling with her thumbs, and bit her bottom lip. She closed her eyes, and breathed steadily. Calming himself down, Jimmy took a few minutes before mumbling, "I'm so stupid." 

Nikki looked over at Jimmy, who was sitting in the same position, "You're not stupid."

He smirked at her, "Yeah, I am." He sat up, "You know why?" 

Nikki followed the action, "No. Why do you think you're stupid?" 

Jimmy pointed to Jack's door, "Because I knew this was coming." Nikki looked over at the door, and then back at Jimmy. "You and Jack? Jesus, the whole world knew Nikki. It was just you two that wanted to dig it so deep into yourselves that you wouldn't even have to notice unless people teased you about it." Nikki looked down, "But see, I knew it was coming. It just made me want to hold on to you more."

"But why would you hold on so much? I mean, did you really think we were still us for the past five months?" Nikki asked, and Jimmy gave a laugh.

"No," He smiled at her, as she looked at him, confused to why he was becoming giddy.

"Are you high?" Nikki asked, seriously.

He shook his head, "No. I didn't think we were us. I'm not high either." Nikki stared at him, "You see, I thought if I could just hold on a little longer, that it'd be okay, because you were still with me in some way. I didn't wanna lose you as a friend either. And, I don't know, I just wanted to be with you until you realized who you're really supposed to be with. You know? Before you found out that you and Jack were supposed to be together. Being you and Jack, I knew that once you had each other, you'd never let go. I know Jack's the one that was the one who you went to when you were younger. He's your rock, I know, Nikki."

Nikki looked down, "I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Jimmy said, leaning down, and looking up at her. "I know." He gave her a comfort smile, "Nikki, there aren't a lot of people you trust fully. And I knew that you only let me know 85 of you. But I know Jack knows you 110, and that should be the one you're with, because he'd know how to take care of you. The Mercer's know you more than any one else could."

Nikki's face softened, "But I do care a lot about you."

Jimmy laughed at her little girl voice. He ran a hand through her hair, and hugged her, "I know. I care a lot about you too."

"You're such a softie for such a badass asshole," Nikki said, hugging him back, taking in his smell in one more time.

"Hey," Jimmy said, defensively. "Speak for yourself."

"Come on," Jimmy said, standing up and putting a hand out to help her stand up. "Alexis is probably sitting in the corner of the room scared of everyone around her."

Nikki scrunched her nose, "How did you deal with her on the plane?" 

Jimmy pulled out his iPod headphones, "Full blast all the way."

Nikki nodded, opening the door to Jack's room, releasing the yelling into the hallway. Her eyes widened seeing Angel holding back Sofi, and Camille being held back by Jerry. Sofi yelling in Spanish, and Camille threatening to take one more step towards her so they could see what happens. Alexis stood there, stomping her foot, her eyes closed, and squealing profanities that nobody could really understand, since her voice was made to torture dogs. Bobby sat beside Jack, on the edge of the bed, the two watching in amazement as the yelling got louder by the minute.

Nikki pulled Jimmy in, quickly closing the door behind them, to block out the sound, so nobody else could come in. "What the fuck is going on?" Nikki yelled across the room to Jack, as he shrugged.

"No, Nikki, shut up," Bobby said, putting his hands together and on his lap. "It's just getting good."

Cautiously, Nikki tried to get across the middle, arms and legs thrown at her, running right through the commotion, "Jack, what happened?" 

Jack shrugged again, "I don't know. It just kind of happened. Alexis started yelling at me, and then Bobby started yelling at her, Camille and Sofi laughed. Alexis started yelling at them, and then she just set them off."

Nikki turned, backing away as a fist threw the air, inches away from Alexis's face, "Geez. Well, what do we do?"

"You!" Alexis pointed, "With Jack? If Jack didn't know you for so long he wouldn't give you a second look. You bit-" Before Alexis could continue, Nikki hit her upside the head. She gasped holding the back of her head, regaining her balance.

"Yeah, say something else, let's see what happens to you," Nikki said, watching Alexis yelp in pain. "Say it, say it again, because you really don't know how long I've wanted to just beat the shit out of you. I'll fucking shove something down your throat so you won't plague the world with your voice anymore."

"All right, all right, that's enough ladies," Bobby said, pulling Nikki away from Alexis and towards Jack, knowing the tone in her voice had no sarcasm in it.

Alexis glared at Jack, "How did I even go out with you?"

"We never really went out," Jack said, and Alexis let out one squeal, and everyone cringed in reply.

"Well if I knew how fucked up your family was, then I wouldn't have even talked to you!" Alexis yelled, and Bobby held her face in the palm of his hand, heading her towards the door.

"That's it, don't talk about our fucking family, all right?" He said, as she wiggled her face out of his grasp. He opened the door, "Get your little ass out of here." Alexis looked at Jack, expecting him to say anything, or something. But her jaw dropped, and spun on her heel, clutching her purse in her hand.

"How the hell did you go out with a crazy chic like that?" Angel asked, breathing heavily, finally letting go of Sofi.

Jack shrugged, as everyone looked at him, "She's hot."

Bobby rolled his eyes, "There are rules to fucking a girl, Jackie. Those kinda girls? Not even worth it no matter how hot they are." He turned around, realizing Jimmy was still in the room, "You get your attitude fixed?"

"No," Jimmy stared down at Bobby. "But I don't have to talk to you." 

Bobby nodded, "Fair enough." He closed the door, and Jimmy stood there. Jimmy looked over at Jack and Nikki, Nikki sitting at the edge of the bed, and the two quickly pulling their hands apart seeing that Jimmy was looking at them.

He directed a nod towards them, "Finally."

Nikki looked down at Jack, and Jack asked, "Finally?"

"Finally realized that you two should go out or somethin'," Jimmy said, and Nikki gave him a small smile. "Actually, I will go. This girl's probably gonna get shot out there." Nikki nodded, "See you two in the city one day?"

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding. "We'll see ya, Jimmy."

Jimmy gave a nod, opening the door, and putting a hand in the air, saying a goodbye to everyone.

Jerry watched as Camille patted her hair, cracking her neck, releasing her stress that Alexis caused. Jerry looked around, "Well, that was a good one."

- - - - - -

_A/N: Anyway, I haven't been able to reply to reviews yet, and I won't be able to until maybe next Monday or Tuesday, so there won't be an update until then. I'm off to go somewhere tomorrow, so just wanted to post a chapter, since I spoil you guys. All right, sounds good? Sounds good. Thanks for the reviews you guys, and please, keep the feedback/reviews coming. Maybe when I come home Sunday, and see awesome reviews, I'll update right away._


	16. Advice From The Fonz

_Disclaimer: don't own anything but Nikki._

- - - - - - - - - -

Jack shifted his position, groaning in annoyance. He hated having to stay in the hospital bed. He wanted to go home. Not to New York City, the week trip back to Detroit suddenly made Detroit his home again. Where he wanted to be, despite all that had happened. But he realized after the shooting and Evelyn's death, that it was about family. It was about sticking together as a family, not going to New York City to try and be a rock star. The concept of ripping his shirt off also became one of idiocy. Something he shouldn't be doing any longer. 

Then there was Nikki. Sitting there, zoned out, and staring the TV, her tired eyes struggling to stay open. Jack smiled a little, as thoughts ran through his mind, just about her. The reason he kept his eyes open to look at her, the reason he concentrated on her voice, the reason he struggled to breathe, was all because Nikki was asking him to. He watched as she tried her best to pull it together, to keep calm for Jack. There were only a few things that Jack thought about laying down in the snow, his blood seeping into it. It was family, and Nikki. That's all he cared about. Not his rock star dream or the girls he slept with for fun. It was the images of Evelyn taking him in, Nikki opening him up to trust, and his brothers, who were patient in him finally getting to know them. It was them that he thought of, and now, they were the only things that mattered. 

Moving his hand closer to Nikki's, Jack pulled her finger towards his, lacing them together. She smiled a little, but still pretended to watch the TV when Jack knew she was clouding her mind with worries. Jack stared at her hand, asking the question that had first entered his mind when Nikki talked him through. What if it was Nikki who was shot? How would he make it through? He was not as strong or independent as Nikki. He needed Nikki. Watching her eyes, as she tried her best to hold back tears, Jack realized that Nikki too wouldn't have much to live for. Their jobs were to take care of each other. Without that, both would end up lost.

"Hey," Jack said, squeezing her hand a little. She blinked, and looked over at him. "You okay?" Nikki nodded, "Really? What just happened in Happy Days?"

"Uh," Nikki said, looking back at the TV, the characters of Happy Days arguing at the dinner table. "Well Chachi and Joanie were about to kiss."

Jack stared at her, as she smiled back at him, "The Fonz has been talking for the past ten minutes."

"Heh," Nikki said, shrugging. "I'm okay, though." She looked down, making it sound like she was trying to convince herself.

"What are you thinking about?" Jack asked, and Nikki shrugged. "Jimmy?" Nikki sat there, "Did he take it really bad?"

Nikki gave a little laugh, "Opposite actually. I mean he was Jimmy the asshole at first, but then he just got deadly serious, and just opened up to me. It was weird. I mean me and Jimmy have opened up to each other and he's opened up before, but for the first time it was like he was telling me something he was scared of."

Jack nodded, "Scared of losing you?"

"Yeah," Nikki sighed. "Well kinda, it was losing me to you."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Why would he be scared of that?"

"Because he said he tried to hold on to me before I realized that I was supposed to be with you," Nikki said, and Jack squeezed her hand in impulse. "I just feel bad. Jimmy's a good guy. I just don't want to hurt him like that, ya know?"

Jack nodded, "Well you always hurt someone with everything you do. Even if you don't try to."

Nikki peered up at him, "That was pretty good advice. Deep advice. You didn't get that from me; did you hear it from the Fonz or something?"

Jack laughed, giving a shrug, "Maybe the shot did something."

Nikki smiled, looking at Jack in the bed. She gulped, and her face softened. She looked up at Jack as his thumb began caressing her hand in comfort. "It's been a crazy day. I mean you woke up, the whole Victor Sweet thing, the whole Jimmy and crazy bitch thing."

Nikki stood up a little, her hand loosening from Jack's, as she pulled her chair side to side with his. She smirked, adjusting their hands. 

Quickly, Jack lifted their hands, and kissed it, as Nikki gave a laugh, "You should go home."

Confused, Nikki turned her head to him, "Getting sick of me?"

Jack smiled, "Funny joke. No, it's just you've been sleeping in that chair for three nights. You should sleep in my bed, and let Bobby sleep there. It'll be funny to see him try to get comfortable. I'll take pictures."

Nikki gave a laugh, and then looked at Jack contemplatively.

"I'll be fine," Jack reassured, moving over to her, so that they were inches apart. He scrunched his nose, and smiled, "I promise, I'll be fine."

"Hm," Nikki said, still looking like she didn't believe him. "All right, all right."

"Good," Jack said, kissing her quickly then pulling away and sitting back. 

Nikki gave him a look, "You're a tease, you jerk."

"Oh," Jack made a surprised face. "I'm a jerk, huh?"

Nikki gave him a 'are you stupid' look, "Uh yeah, you're a jerk, and you're a complete asshole too."

"Well, you can be a bitch," Jack said, leaning closer to her. Nikki shrugged, and he laughed, "See, you are."

"So I can be," Nikki said, expressionless.

"But I do like it," Jack whispered, leaning into her, kissing her softly at first. Before she could pull away in annoyance from the light kisses and chicken pecks, Jack leaned in more kissing her harder, as she laughed in surprise. Smiling, Jack pulled away, and watched her. "See, I'm not a tease."

Nikki opened her eyes, and nodded in satisfaction, "Pretty good, Mercer, pretty good."

Jack lay against the lined up pillows, closing his eyes, "Well, if I wasn't in this stupid bed, we'd do much more."

"More what?" Bobby asked, walking into the room, the two looking at him. They stared, and he made a face, "Actually don't answer that, don't even wanna fucking know what you guys are talkin' about."

The two watched as Bobby walked across the room, leaned against the wall, and sat down. They looked at each other, and smiled a little knowing that Bobby came for an old Bobby-Jack-Nikki talk that they hadn't had in so long.

- - - - - - - - -

_A/N: Okay, so I'm guessing the last chapter was pretty disliked. There were a lot of hits/readers but not a lot of reviews so I guess you guys hated it or something. But it's all good, maybe you guys will like this chapter since there aren't Alexis and Jimmy, just some good old Jack and Nikki time. Hopefully you guys still like the story and reviews/feedback please._


	17. Are You Happy?

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Nikki and Johnny. _

_Flashbacks in italics._

_- - - - - -_

"_Shut up!" Nikki yelled, inching towards Jack's face, as he retreated away from her. ___

_"No, you shut up!" Jack yelled back, not as loud, or not as angry as Nikki. Bobby watched from his seat on the couch while the two fought for the remote, and began their 'no, you shut up already' fight. Bobby smirked watching the ten-year-olds, in extreme entertainment. "Fine!" Jack yelled, and Nikki plopped onto her butt, the remote releasing from Jack's hands as she sat down in surprise. Jack laughed, and pointed, "Aha! You fell!" ___

_Nikki glared, and roared, "Shut up, fairy!" ___

_With that Bobby burst into hysterics and Jack frowned. It was a new found name that Bobby started, which was catching onto the other brothers and Nikki. He disliked it more than the Cracker Jack nickname. ___

_"I have to pee," Jack grumbled, and walked away. ___

_Nikki watched as Jack walked out of the living room, then she looked at Bobby, a sinister smile starting to appear. ___

_"What?" Bobby asked her, and she got up, running to the bathroom located by the kitchen, with her bare feet. "Hey, what are you doin'?" Bobby yelled, running after her. Turning the corner, he found Nikki holding onto the door knob for dear life, laughing silently. Bobby gave one laugh, leaned against the wall, and shook his head. ___

_Hearing the toilet flush, Nikki's grip secured itself, as she felt a hand on the other side, trying to open it up. Nikki and Bobby laughed silently hearing Jack groaning in aggravation, as he continued to turn the handle. ___

_"Hey!" Jack yelled, "I'm stuck!" ___

_Nikki smiled blissfully, trying not to loosen her grip as she laughed. ___

_"Bobby!" Jack yelled, and Bobby shook his head again. "Nikki! Someone open the door! I'm stuck! It's broken!" ___

_Bobby and Nikki both looked towards the hallway, hearing the door open, and close. Soon enough, they were looking right at Evelyn, looking at them quizzically. ___

_"What are you two doing?" She asked, putting her bag on the kitchen table, and taking her jacket off. ___

_"HELP!" She heard from the other side of the bathroom door, and looked down at Nikki, her hands on her hips. Nikki giggled, as Evelyn stared. ___

_"Nikki," Evelyn said, seriously, looking down at Nikki who was smiling more and more with every 'help' Jack yelled. ___

_"He made me fall on my butt before," Nikki said, innocently. ___

_"Nikki," Evelyn sighed, as Jack's screams became louder. ___

_"Bobby told me to do it," Nikki said, holding the door with one hand as she pointed. ___

_"I did not!" Bobby made a face, shaking his head towards Evelyn. "This girl here-" ___

_"Oop," She said, putting her other hand one, feeling the door knob turn an inch to the left. ___

_"Nikki?" Jack asked, in the silence. "Is that you out there?" He asked, and nobody answered. "Open the damn door right now, Nick!" ___

_"Fine!" Nikki yelled back, letting go, turning the door knob, and saw Jack fly back onto his butt. "That's what you get." ___

_Rubbing his bottom in pain, Jack glared up at Nikki, who glared right back, no sympathy for the bruise he was going to get._

Jack lifted his hand, a sinister smile in tact, and slapped the back of Nikki's calf. Jumping up in surprise, and wincing from the sting, she turned to glare at Jack, her elbows propping her upper body up. Looking to her right, she took her hand, and grabbed Jack's foot, knowing he was ticklish and her nails would dig into the bottom of his foot. Jack yelped, throwing his head back. Nikki gave a loud laugh hearing Jack's skull create a big noise for the room to hear. He rubbed the back of his head repeatedly, and glared at Nikki.

"Oh boy," Bobby muttered, leaning his head against the wall.

"Bobby," Nikki said, and Bobby looked up. "You got a girlfriend?"

Bobby rolled his eyes, and scoffed, "No."

"You got a job?" Nikki continued, and Bobby continued to look up. 

"Yeah," Bobby replied, and Nikki thought.

"Are you happy?" Bobby looked up at Nikki, who stared at him. He looked at Jack, who stared at him, expecting an answer as well.

Bobby shrugged, "Not really, but are we ever happy?"

"I'm pretty happy," Jack spoke up.

Bobby stared at him, "You just got shot."

Nikki turned around to face Jack, and Jack shrugged, "Yeah, but it's actually nice to have everyone together." He looked down, taking it back immediately, "Well, except for Ma. But you know, the brothers, Nikki, even Sofi makes it feel like we're complete or something." 

"Deep shit," Bobby mumbled, looking down, his arms resting on his knees. 

Nikki nodded, and looked at Bobby, "He's been watching the Fonz."

"What about you, Nick?" Bobby asked, and Nikki still looked down. "You been happy?"

"Uh," Nikki thought. She looked at Bobby, then Jack, "I don't really know what happy is." She sighed, "I mean, there's feeling good, feeling content, feeling like shit, but what's being happy? Always smiling and giggling with no emotion of sadness, or," She sat up to slap Jack's stomach, "Annoyance. Then no, I haven't been happy, I've been all right."

Bobby nodded, "Amen."

"Hey Bobby," Jack asked, and Bobby looked up at him. "Would you ever play professional hockey again?"

"Without knocking everyone out in your sight though," Nikki interjected.

Bobby gave a laugh, "I don't think they'd let me fucking play anymore." Bobby looked at Nikki, who started to shift awkwardly. "You still dance?

Nikki looked up, and eyebrows went up, "Me?"

Bobby stared at her, "No, Jack. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you. Still doin' those hip hop dance group things? You used to do those all the time."

Nikki looked back at Jack, "No, I stopped a little after I moved to the city." Nikki bit her bottom lip remembering the moderns that took her mind off everything, and kept her going. "I only practice old shit."

Bobby cocked his head to the side, "Why'd you give it up?"

Nikki shrugged, smiled a little to herself, "Reminded me too much of home."

"Ah," Bobby nodded, understanding. The three were living proof of people who kept running and moving, avoiding home, to escape the past. Although Bobby stayed to help Ma in taking care of things, as soon as he felt he could, he bolted, hardly coming back at all. But Jack and Nikki wasted no time. Nikki left for somewhere in NYC, and Jack followed a little while after to pursue his rock star dreams.

"Actually," Nikki broke the silence. "This time it actually feels good to be home." She looked back at Jack, "It's like we stayed away for so long that we started to forget why, and we made it up to think like it was this horrible thing. But when we came home, it felt nice."

Jack nodded, "Yeah, it feels like Ma's here, bringin' us all together."

The three sighed to themselves, basking in the silence. Jack watched as Nikki put her head into the arms and stared off at the wall Bobby was sitting against.

"Hey," Jack said, a tone of voice that he only had for Nikki. Soft, low, and comforting. She peered at him, "You wanna go sleep at the house now?"

Nikki looked at Bobby, then back at Jack, "I can't just sleep here?"

"Nick, you haven't really slept for three nights," Bobby said, agreeing with Jack.

Nikki looked at the clock, "It's already one though, maybe I should just stay here." They stared at her, "Fine, let's go." She rolled onto her back, and slowly sat up.

Bobby got up, keeping his eyes on Nikki, who stood next to Jack, the two staring at each other. Cocking an eyebrow, Bobby watched as Jack took Nikki's hand, and pulled her closer, as she leaned down and Jack leaned up to kiss her.

"Call us when you wake up," Jack said, and Nikki nodded, standing upward. As if realizing who else was in the room, they both looked at Bobby whose face was a mix between mad and confused.

"What the fuck is that?" Bobby asked.

"Uh," Nikki looked at Jack. "I don't know."

"You two together or somethin'?" Bobby asked, and they shrugged in reply. "Come on, let's go before the two of you piss me off."

As Bobby walked out, Nikki stared at Jack. Giving a laugh, Jack her arm lightly, "It's fine. I'll be fine."

Nikki nodded, and walked out of the room, giving one last look at Jack, who shooed her away with his hand. Jack groaned watching her leave, and rested his head against the wall. His eyes darted around, realizing this was the first opportunity since he woke up that his thoughts could get the best of him. He now could recall what happened. Imagine what had happened. How much he struggled to keep Nikki's voice ringing through his mind. How hard it was to stay alive.

Jack gulped, turning up the volume on the TV, starting to regret to tell Nikki to leave.

- - - -

"You'll call me right when you wake up?" Bobby asked, looking at Nikki, who stared at the house, cringing a little. "Ey," He said, pushing a little.

Nikki glared over at him, and mumbled, "Yeah."

Watching her open the door, Bobby leaned to see her, "Yo." She leaned into the car to see Bobby better. Bobby smiled, his dimples visible on his face, "I told you he'd wake up." Nikki grinned, and nodded, "All right, get some sleep, don't worry 'bout anything."

"Bye, Bobby," Nikki said quietly, before closing the car door.

Bobby blinked watching Nikki open the door, pulling out her keys, and looked around herself, making sure that no-one was around her. Bobby watched as she closed the door behind her, and his eyes glanced at the house next door.

"_Yo, where you goin?" Johnny asked, as Nikki ran past him and Bobby, sitting on the stairs in front of Johnny and Nikki's house. _

_Nikki stopped abruptly in front of the Mercer house, "Ma said she was gonna give me some lunch." _

"_Nikki, you're-" _

"_Bye, Johnny. Hi, Bobby!" Nikki screamed, running right in. _

_Johnny shook his head, "Sorry, she's such a fucking moocher off you guys."_

_Bobby gave a laugh, adjusting his cap, "Nah, Ma loves it. Nikki's like her daughter."_

_Johnny nodded, looking at his hand while the two played poker, "I worry about her."_

"_Nick?" Bobby asked, keeping his eyes on his cards. _

"_Yeah," Johnny nodded. "I want her to get out of here. Fall in love. Get married. Get a job, all that shit."_

_Bobby peered at him, "She will." Bobby put cards down, "You'll make sure of it."_

_Johnny shook his head, "She's fucking too much to handle for me."_

"_Then she got the Mercers'," Bobby said, and Johnny sighed. "I already got Angel and Jerry to look out for. Nikki would be no problem. Or just a bigger problem considering she's a girl." Johnny stared at his cards, "Fuck Johnny, stop worryin' about it. She's only five." Johnny gave a laugh and nodded in agreement, "What you should be fuckin' worried about is this gang shit you're going to tonight."_

"_Don't even give me anymore shit about it," Johnny said, and Bobby rolled his eyes. _

"_I thought you were done with that shit, man," Bobby said, shoving Johnny a little. _

"_Like you are?" Johnny asked, and Bobby shook his head. "I am, though," Johnny muttered, "After tonight."_

"_Mhm," Bobby mumbled. "You better fucking be."_

Bobby sighed out of his nose, and turned away from the house, turning the engine on, and driving off.

- - - - - - -

_A/N: It's finals/graduation time. I'm swamped which means less updates, sorry guys. Only a few chapters left though. I'm considering writing a sequel if you guys wish for one, I'll ask again by the end. Thanks so much for the reviews, and please keep the reviews/feedback coming. Hope you liked all the Bobby-Nikki-Jack stuff. _


	18. Bonding With Bobby

_Disclaimer: Don't own a thing, well, except Nikki and a reference to Johnny. _

_A/N: Did you miss the story? Did you miss those adoorable brothers that just can't seem to stop cursing and being assholes? Well, I hope you have. Because we have a lot of time with the eldest brother, who curses, and is the biggest ass of all: Bobby. I haven't been able to reply to reviews, or update, or any of that stuff because of this hectic schedule that happens before graduation time. But I'm done with finals, and my last day of high school was today, so I'm good to go in writing, and updating. Well, hopefully, there is still much to do. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. It has some serious Jack and Bobby time, which I always love, so hopefully you guys will too. Enough of this author's note, reviews/feedback please! They are seriously appreciated and helpful.  
_

_**rage-ember:**__ Thanks for your reviews and feedback. You're the only one who gave feedback on the sequel, so I appreciate it. I'm still gonna be planning it for a bit, but I'm ninety percent sure that I'll write one._

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Keeping his eyes wide, Jack's head slowly turned towards the door. He stared at Bobby, who walked in, giving him a confused look to the little kid wide eyes that Jack wore.

"You all right?" Bobby asked and Jack nodded. Bobby stared at Jack in the 'I'm not stupid' look. "You thinking about the shooting?"

"When I close my eyes," Jack mumbled, his eyes blinking as it went back to normal size. "It's fine."

Bobby sat in the chair, and paused. He looked down, and shook his head, "Damn Jack, if you woulda died." Bobby looked up, "It would've killed all of us. Little Nikki just wouldn't know what to do with herself."

Jack gave a laugh, "She wouldn't." Jack sat there, "But if she died, I would be even worse."

Bobby smirked, running a hand past his face, "You'd fucking kill yourself."

Jack nodded, "I really would."

Bobby leaned more into his chair, "So what was that? This whole kissing thing? You two together or not?"

Jack shrugged, and Bobby cringed in annoyance, "I don't know. It's weird, because it's me and Nikki, could you picture us making it official? Because I really can't."

Bobby gave a nod, "I can't either. But you guys aren't one those friends with benefits deals?"

Jack shook his head, giving a laugh, "Oh no, I've had those before. This is definitely not that." Jack scrunched his nose in thought, "I guess we're together, just not that 'will you be my girlfriend' way. We're just," Jack shrugged, "Me and Nikki."

Bobby nodded, "Makes sense." Bobby raised and eyebrow, "For you two. But fuckin' finally fairy. Finally together. So wait, when did you guys start kissing?"

"Well," Jack sat up. "Uh, the night before the shooting, something kind of happened."

"Something weird?" Bobby mocked Jack, and Jack nodded. "Something happen? Not just some weird ass tension?" Jack nodded. "You two have sex?"

Jack shook his head furiously, and then stopped to think. "Actually," Bobby sat up straight, and Jack backed away in reaction. "No no, we didn't. It's just if she didn't say anything, it could've gotten to that point. We were just kind of in this intense make out session."

Bobby gave him a questioning look, "She said something?"

Jack gulped, "Yeah, she said she didn't know if she wanted to be us."

"Ooh," Bobby nodded. "That's why you had that fuckin' emo face on. All right, allright. So you woke up, and it was all good?" Jack nodded, "Did you hear her talking to you after you got shot or you don't remember?"

Jack shook his head, "Oh no, I heard her. I heard her talking sometimes when I was in the coma too."

Bobby nodded, "You know, I'm actually happy to see how fuckin' attached you two are."

"Why?"

Bobby gave a little smile, "Because if she didn't follow you here, and you know she came to look out for you, for all of us, just to make sure we were okay. And probably cause in some way she missed it too." Bobby leaned back, "Plus, she wouldn't want you home when she wasn't here. It'd be like she missed out on something." Bobby shook his head, getting back on track, "If she didn't come following, then she wouldn't have talked you through."

"Ah, Nick," Jack said, with a slight laugh, and a smile on his face. "Bobby," Jack mumbled, and Bobby made a response noise. "Seriously, how have you been?"

"I don't know, Jack," Bobby answered quicker than Jack expected. "I mean, when they called to tell me that Ma died, it was like a fucking cherry on top."

Jack shot Bobby a sympathy look.

"I have a job. I don't like it very much, but when did I ever like a job? I have some friends, but it ain't like I trust them one-hundred-percent. Don't have much," Bobby said, and looked up at Jack. "But you and Nikki are right. Coming home feels right, like Ma is bringin' us all together."

"I miss her," Jack said, and Bobby nodded.

He looked up, giving a little smile, "Me too, Jackie. Me too." Bobby looked at Jack, sitting there, looking down.

He smiled a little remembering Jack when he first got to the Mercer house. He didn't talk much. He didn't get out of his room much. He didn't really interact. Until he met Nikki. Until Bobby saw them interact for a first time and knew that Nikki would be okay with someone like Jack, and Jack would be okay with Nikki. So Bobby let them go to take care of each other. It took some stress off his back in watching the two so closely. "You know Jackie, you're the only one who had a dream."

Jack looked up at Bobby, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well there's me, I didn't dream much, just because I think dreams are a waste of time. Angel never had a dream, he just wanted to live life. Hooking up with women is what he dreamt about. Jerry had dreams, but I don't think they were ones he really paid attention to. But he is living the life, a wife, a family. He's the one that ended up with the good life, even if he does live here, it don't matter. We all know what happened to his recent dream, as big as it was, as much as he tried to get it, he just didn't reach it."

Bobby shook his head, "Even Nikki. You remember how much she used to dance the hip hop shit? She loved it. Even if she didn't tell anyone. She also loved driving cars really fast but she wasn't even allowed to dream of doing that for a living. You know that she used to sing sometimes? But she doesn't, because it reminds her of family. Everyone told her that her mom could sing really well. I swear if Johnny was still alive, Johnny could lead a fucking boy-band, the boy could sing and dance."

Jack laughed, "I wish I could've met Johnny."

"He'd want to meet you too," Bobby said. "He'd like to see you with Nikki. He'd approve. He'd watch over like a hawk, but he'd approve." Jack smiled, "But see, Nikki, no matter what family talents she got in her genes, she dropped them. She dropped them to stay away from all of it. To let it go. To move on. Whatever it was, she let it go. It's a damn shame." Jack stared at Bobby, eyes eager and wide, learning something about Nikki that he never knew about. Something only Johnny or Bobby would know.

Bobby looked at Jack, who looked at him, admiring him, "But you, Jackie, you went to the city, and went for your dream. You made all that racket with your fucking guitar and actually did something about it." Bobby gave Jack a proud nod, "You're the only Mercer to follow their dream, and reach it."

The two sat in silence. Jack looked up at Bobby, who stared at the floor. It was the first time he had a conversation like this with Bobby. Although Bobby was Bobby, he always used to sit down and talk with Nikki and Jack, talking about life and all that shit. But this was the first time; Bobby was so open about where he was, and how proud he was of his family. It was the first time Bobby looked down, and didn't have an angry face on, but one of vulnerability.

"Bobby," Jack said, Bobby looking up. "So, we gonna stay here for a while? We could all fix up Ma's house, and stay for a while."

"Just drop our lives?" Bobby asked, and Jack nodded. Bobby gave an impressed nod, "Sounds fuckin' good."

"Gotta stick with the family," Bobby muttered, and Jack stared at him, not sure if Bobby said anything at all, since he was speaking so low. "I said, we gotta stick with the family." Jack nodded, "I mean, who do we have Jack? We can't lose anyone else. Ma had so many people that were there for her, who loved her, who would die for her. But we had Ma, and each other, you know?" Jack nodded, again. "You need Nikki, Jerry needs Camille and the girls, and Angel needs Sofi," Bobby paused and gulped. "Well, I need all of you guys."

Jack sat there in the silence. He wasn't sure what to say to this Bobby that opened his heart up him. He was used to heartfelt conversations with Bobby, but nothing ever like this, "We all need you Bobby."

Bobby looked up, and smiled a little, eyes soft, and whispered, "Thanks, Jack."


	19. Hot Chocolate and Kitchen Tables

_Disclaimer: Don't own a thing except Nikki and Johnny._

_A/N: Ah, it kinda worries me that I lost reviewers, but it's okay, because people are still reading at least. So this is the chapter before the last one. I'm gonna make a sequel but I'm gonna have to work on it for a while before I post it. Tell me if you guys still would like one; that would be helpful to know. Anyway, that's all to say really, other than this chapter is pretty serious; it's a conversation between Nikki, Jerry, and Angel. But the next chapter will have everyone in it. Tell me what you guys think, reviews, please._

- - - - - -

Slowly closing the porch door, her right hand on the doorknob, her left hand pressed against it, and her body close. Nikki heard the door click, as she locked the door in one swift movement. She breathed slowly, and stared down at her shoes. From the corner of her eye, she could see the snow from outside blowing through the shattered window. She shook her head, realizing there was no need to even lock the door on the porch outside if the windows were torn apart from gunshots.

Nikki's face softened, seeing Jack's shoes lying on the ground, one fallen over, one upright. She spotted one of his sweaters on the chair, and Nikki's face started to crumble. She closed her eyes, as her eyes watered, and she dropped her duffle bag in defeat. Her body slumped forward, as her hands made their way to her face, covering her mouth as a sob escaped. Brushing tears away, she picked up her duffle bag, and slowly turned around, seeing two pairs of eyes staring at her.

Giving one loud 'ah', as her heart stopped beating, Nikki crashed back into the door behind her. She put her hand over her heart, as they walked out of the darkness, closer to her, so she could see their faces from the light of a nearby street lamp. "Holy shit," Nikki said, regaining breath. Taking deep breaths, and shaking her head, looking at them oddly. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

Angel looked at Jerry, who stared at her, "We were just checking if it was you, or some burglar." They stared at her, eyes concerned. They didn't even laugh at her spasm.

"Why is it so dark inside then?" Nikki asked, short breaths.

Angel shrugged, "We were just talking."

"In pitch black?"

"We used to talk like that when we shared a room. We thought it would be fun," Angel said, and Nikki looked at them oddly again.

"Yeah, fun," Nikki said, leaning against the door for support, her legs feeling weak.

"You all right?" Angel asked, walking closer to her.

"Well, I'm trying to get my heart beating at a normal pace right now," Nikki said, hitting the spot where her heart was.

Jerry walked over and grabbed her duffle bag from her, "No, I mean, why are you crying?"

Nikki stared at them, and realized that they had caught her in her momentary emotional breakdown.

"I'm okay," She whispered, her breath finally normal, the shock completely gone. She looked at the windows, "I was just remembering."

Jerry and Angel shared a look. Angel walked over to Nikki, put his arm around her, as the three walked into the house, closing the door behind them.

- - - - -

Jerry and Angel peered up at each other, their heads down, as the silence surrounded the three of time. The brothers waiting for Nikki to open up, or just say she didn't want to talk. But she just sat there, drinking the hot chocolate Jerry had made for her.

Angel cleared his throat, just to make the scary silence go away for a second. Jerry shot him a glare, and Angel shrugged in return.

"What if he did die?" Nikki asked, staring into her cup, watching the tiny marshmallows Jerry threw in there, floating around.

Jerry and Angel looked at each other again. They always seemed to talk through their looks, just as all the brothers did at times, when words were unnecessary or couldn't be said.

Jerry looked at Nikki, "I don't know, baby. I really don't know how to answer that one. I don't really wanna think about if he did."

She looked up, her tired eyes red from exhaustion, or crying, the brothers weren't sure, "I mean, you know, all I really have is Jack. It's not even a lie, and I hate saying that. Everyday, it's hang out with Jack, talk to Jack, yell at Jack, argue with Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack. It's so fucking pathetic, but that kid has been my life for so long. If he died," Nikki pursed her lips, and gulped. "I don't even know."

"But he's alive, Nikki. He's still here," Angel said, and Nikki nodded, a small smile appeared, and a tear roll down her cheek.

"I know, thank God," She looked up at Jerry and Angel. "I don't even know why I'm crying," She mumbled, wiping it away.

"Because you've been keeping strong," Jerry said, rubbing her back in comfort. "You don't cry at night, because you're with Jack. You don't cry with us, because you wanna be the one who says it's all right, or you just like to be a man, where you think that you're not supposed to let anyone see you cry." Nikki sniffed, "But it is okay to cry now, Nikki. It's all right now."

With that, Nikki rested her forehead on her one hand, as her body slouched over, and tears rolled down her face.

"You know what I was thinking about in that hospital room?" Angel and Jerry looked up at Nikki, who used her index fingers, wiping her final tears away, and gaining her composure again.

"What, Nick?" Angel asked, reaching a hand to rub her back in comfort.

Nikki stared at the floating marshmallows once more, and gave a tiny, uncomfortable smile at Angel, "When Johnny died." She looked at Jerry, "Waiting. Praying. Not sleeping. Feeling as if the one person I needed was getting ripped away from me. It felt just the same when Johnny died."

Jerry nodded, "Yeah, I was thinkin' that too. Before Jack came, Johnny was the light of everyone. The badass that was good on the inside. The one that had so much goin' for him, you know?"

Angel grasped onto his cup tightly, "Yeah. Just like Jack. Like they were the ones that held the hope for all of us. "

"You could tell Ma thought of Jack as the light. She'd never say it, but it's not like we didn't know. She knew he could go far," Nikki smirked to herself. "Bobby was Ma's right hand. She forgave Bobby for everything because she knew that Bobby was this unbelievably great person inside, despite his actions. I mean, he was her first kid. No matter what Bobby could do, she was always proud of him."

"I was Ma's little pimp," Angel gave a laugh, his teeth shining, lighting up the mood of the room.

"Yes, you were," Nikki said, giving a nod, smiling. "She told me once that the only reason she let you join the Marines was because she knew that you'd be helping the world, and you were great enough to do that."

Angel grinned, "I never knew that." Angel looked at Jerry, "You were Ma's responsible one. She knew you could watch out for all of us. She knew you had an actual conscious, unlike us, and knew the difference between right and wrong. You actually think about the consequences before doing something. Something we never really do, other than Jack. She had big expectations for you," Jerry looked up at him, "and you lived up to each one."

Jerry nodded, "I felt like she expected too much from me at times." He smirked, "But I knew she only held them so high because she knew I could do it." The three sighed simultaneously, and Jerry gave a nod towards Nikki. "You were always a part of the family." Nikki looked up, "You and Johnny. You guys always were."

Nikki blinked, "You guys were our family."

"She loved you two just as much as she loved us," Angel said, and Nikki gave a nod, answering with a whisper of 'I know.'

"You were her little girl," Jerry said, smiling at Nikki. "Since we were all the boys, you were the girl she'd always wanted. She worried so much about you, hoping that you'd turn out okay, that you'd follow your dreams, that you'd put the past behind you. You and Jack are her babies, and you both made her life so much brighter."

Nikki bit her bottom lip, feeling the lump back in her throat, "God, I miss her."

"But it's gonna be okay," Jerry said, and the two looked up like little kids looking up at the eldest brother. "Because we have each other. When it's all of us, we're all strong enough to do anything."

The three directed their eyes to the kitchen table. The table they looked at for so many dinners, just staring at it when they felt sad, uncomfortable, or got in trouble. They wrapped their fingers around their mugs, the heat of the hot chocolate already gone.

Angel sighed, "So, to the hospital?"

The three stood up at the same time, grabbing their jackets, answering, "Yeah."


	20. Family

_Disclaimer: Ah, still only own Nikki and Johnny. Lucky John Singleton._

_A/N: The last chapter, how sad. Just wanna say the reviewers for this story were all great, especially you frequent and faithful reviewers, you guys definitely kept me updating, and continuing to write this story. This is by far my most liked story and makes me extremely happy that it got up to 118 reviews. My first one, so you guys are awesome. Anyway, last chapter, hope you guys like it. It ends things pretty well, and a sequel will be up as soon as I figure out what I wanna do with it. Last time I'm gonna say it; reviews and feedback, please. Tell me what you guys thought of the story in general, or if you think the last chapter did it justice._

_- - - - - - - - - - -_

"_I'm thinkin' about it, Ma. Thinkin' bout it."_

Bobby blinked, and the image of Evelyn disappeared. He sighed, turning around to look at the hockey-playing kids, finally taking in what had happened. It made all the Mercers' feel as if they had to be together, and to reunite the family. Bobby turned around and looked up at the house, broken in so many ways. He looked at Evelyn's window, to see a piece of wood covering it, in attempt to keep the cold out. He looked at the windows, open to the frigid weather.

But he could also see inside, where the lights and heaters were turned on. Everyone in big sweaters or winter jackets, trying their best to warm up in 'the frozen tundra house', as they nicknamed it. Well, what Nikki and Jack named it. But everyone with a smile. The kids, the girls, his brothers. It was family.

"Nikki! Jack!" Jerry yelled from the dining room, walking to the stairs. "Come on, Bobby." Jerry said, grabbing the railing on the stairs. "Hey you two, come down to eat!"

- - - - - -

"Okay, hold on!" Nikki yelled down, at the top of the steps. "Jackie, come on." Nikki stood there, looking at Jack, who was propped up on his elbows, laying on his stomach, and looking through Nikki's iPod. "Jack," She said once more, and he turned to face her, turning around, not getting up or saying anything. Nikki rolled her eyes, and walked into the room.

"I'm trying to find our song," Jack muttered, concentrated.

Nikki raised an eyebrow, and tried not to laugh, "Our song?" She asked, getting onto the bed, and lying on top of Jack, so that she could see above him. She looked down seeing the tip of her feet in the middle of the back of Jack's knees. She pouted, "Dude, I am so fucking short."

"What about this song?" Jack asked, handing the iPod headphone behind him. Nikki leaned in, and Jack inserted it into her ear, without even looking. Playing the song, Jack smiled, and peered back at Nikki.

Nikki stared at Jack, "How is 'My Boo' anything like us?"

"You know, girls screaming my name." Jack said, and Nikki continued to stare, "Like fans, and stuff."

Nikki directed her stare elsewhere, "Right. We'll call it the last resort song."

Jack groaned, "Fine."

"What are you doin anyway? Trying to find a song for us? You are so the fucking girl in this relationship," Nikki mumbled quickly, and yelped as Jack rolled over to his back, but held Nikki in her place.

"You know what?" Jack wrapped his arms around her back, and pulled her face closer. "Shut up," He said, kissing her.

Pulling away, Nikki whispered, centimeters away from Jack, "Seriously, let's go eat."

Jack made a face, "In the frozen tundra downstairs? No, thanks."

"Family lunch, Jackie," Nikki said, and Jack gave a nod.

"Let's go," Jack said, sitting up, his arms still around Nikki.

"Okay, don't be such a girl, let me go," Nikki said, as Jack shook his head, and pulled his arms off her, pushing her away lightly.

Nikki laughed in reply to this, and Jack just rolled his eyes at her lack of sympathy to his feelings.

- - - - -

Walking briskly down the stairs, Jack and Nikki smiled seeing Daniella and Amelia, waiting for them at the bottom. "Hey, babies." Nikki said, picking up Amelia, and Daniella got scooped into Jack's arms.

"We wanna dance!" Daniella said, pulling at Nikki's sweater. "Will you teach us a dance?"

Nikki turned around to Jack, and blinked. She looked down uncomfortably, and gulped, "You-you guys know I dance?"

Amelia nodded, "Bobby told us." She pointed, as Bobby walked in. "Could you teach us?"

"You told them I dance?" Nikki asked, shifting Amelia to her other hip, looking at Bobby. "Did you tell them I sing too?"

Daniella pulled at Nikki's sweater again, "Can you sing with us?"

Bobby gave a laugh, and looked down, getting the snow off his shoes, "You just did." He looked up and saw Nikki staring at him. She surprisingly didn't look furious, but just a little scared to go back to that state again. It would bring back memories. But Bobby knew if she started singing and dancing again, it would be best for her. He walked towards her and patted her head, resting his hand there, "No worries, Nick." He winked, "Teach em' a dance, it'll be fun for them."

Bobby walked away, and Nikki turned to look at Jack, the two standing in the hallway, with two confused little girls in their arms. Jack smiled a little, and dug through his back pocket, pulling out her iPod.

He handed it to her, and gave a nod, "Pick a song you guys can dance around to." He leaned into Daniella playfully, scrunching his nose as she giggled. Jack laughed in reply, "It'll be fun, right?"

Daniella nodded in reply, "Please, Nikki?"

"Yeah, please Nikki?" Amelia echoed.

Nikki looked down at Jack's hand, and raised an eyebrow, "You brought the iPod down with you?"

He shrugged a little, "I was going to look for our song."

Nikki rolled her eyes, and took the iPod from his hands, "Coome on cuties, let's see what we can dance like fools to."

They let out little roars in excitement, causing Jack and Nikki to back their heads away, and wince in pain from the screams. Setting both of them down, Jack put his hands on Nikki's shoulders, and then walked into the kitchen as she walked into the living room.

"Hey, you guys," Camille walked into the living room, looking down at her girls, and Nikki. "You gonna dance?" She asked, and the girls nodded repeatedly. Nikki looked up at her, and Camille gave her a smile and wink, encouraging her. Camille gave one more nod, and walked back into the dining room.

"So," Nikki said, connecting the iPod to speakers. "What song?"

"A good song!" Amelia yelled, and Nikki laughed.

"Okay, let's try shuffle then," Nikki said, sitting on the cold floor. The little girl's shoulders jumped hearing the loud clash of instruments, an obvious hardcore _Distillers _song. Nikki made an 'oops' face hearing someone drop a plate from the surprise, and she quickly changed the song, hearing Bobby yell her name. "Sorry, sorry," Nikki mumbled, and the song changed into a familiar trumpet playing.

Nikki smiled, and Jerry popped his head into the room. Jerry's eyes got wide hearing that it was evidently the song titled 'My Humps' which had too much of hidden dirty lyrics for Jerry to handle for his babies.

"No, no, not this song," Jerry said, shaking his head, as his little girls started to jump around in joy.

"This song! This song!" Daniella yelled, and Nikki gave a big hearty laugh watching them.

Angel laughed from the dining room table, as Sofi quietly giggled beside him. Bobby peaked into the living room, his eyes wide, and gave Angel a closed mouth smirk.

"This song?" Jerry pouted, "You really want this song?"

The two girls nodded, and Jerry closed his eyes, body leaning down in defeat, "Okay, okay, fine, eat first though."

Nikki laughed at Jerry's expression as he watched his little girls run past him, pouting that their favorite song to dance around to could contain the words, 'mix your milk with my cocoa puffs.'

Spinning through the artist on her iPod, Nikki smiled to herself, seeing 'The Temptations.' It was one of Evelyn's favorite bands. She made the boys, as well as her and Johnny listen to them constantly. She had a favorite song, no matter how sad it was, it always put a smile on her face. Especially when she'd play it for them and Bobby would scoop Nikki in his arms, twirling her around, Angel and Jerry would sing along, and Evelyn would hold hands with Jack, and spin him circles.

The beats began, and Nikki watched as the boys stopped what they were doing, and a smile appeared on their face.

'I Wish It Would Rain' played as they all started taking their seats in big puffy winter jackets, or thick sweaters, the family sat down in their chairs, the dining room table filled more than it ever was before. But there was still an empty seat. A saved seat. One for Evelyn, because her spot couldn't ever be replaced.

Jack and Nikki looked to their right, staring at her chair. Lifting her right arm, Nikki lightly rubbed Jack's back in comfort and looked around the table. Angel and Sofi sitting to her left, Bobby at his regular chair across from Evelyn, Jerry, Camille, and the girls sitting across from them.

Nikki found herself smiling at the noise that filled the house and the fighting that Bobby and Sofi were taking part in, and Jerry telling the girls they should pick another song. Then Bobby stood up and the house quieted down, the brothers standing up first, as everyone followed. Hands were held, and heads were bowed.

"…and thank you for bringing us all here together again," Bobby said, as the brothers and Nikki looked up at Bobby. Bobby paused before saying, "Tell Ma we're gonna be all right."

A small smile appeared on everyone's faces, as the simultaneous loud 'Amen.' filled the air.


	21. Author's Note

Author's Note:

And the sequel is out. If any of you readers for this story want to continue and read the sequel, it's called What Becomes of The Broken Hearted. Hoope you guys like it.


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